Gohar Eshghi's Reaction to 60-Year Sentences for Gilan Activists: This Reactionary Government is the Number One Enemy of Free Women

In response to the issuance of over 60 years of prison sentences for eleven women's rights activists in Gilan, Gohar Eshghi wrote in an Instagram post that this reactionary government is the number one enemy of free women. The mother of Sattar Beheshti added: "I have heard that long prison sentences have been handed down to my intellectual daughters in Gilan. This government fears the presence of women. What have my daughters in Gilan done to deserve more than sixty years in prison? Why don't you imprison thieves and those who steal from the people? Why are all corrupt and thieving officials ministers and lawmakers?" Gohar Eshghi, whose son Sattar Beheshti was killed in 2012 while in custody for 'blogging,' further emphasized: "My children, remember that from this anti-woman government, no one will receive anything but execution, flogging, and torture. This backward government is the number one enemy of our free women, an enemy of humanity and love that wants to prolong its cursed existence by taking revenge on our brave women." She also stressed: "The rulers of the Islamic Republic are mistaken. In the end, they will melt away like snow, and these brave women will dismantle their regime." Gohar Eshghi called on all people of Iran to not remain silent against these 'oppressive sentences' and to be the voice of 'the daughters of Gilan,' urging international bodies and governments to 'choke this black regime' and not allow it to take revenge on the brave women of Iran. The third branch of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht announced on Wednesday, April 8, the sentences for eleven women's rights activists and political activists arrested in August 2023 in Gilan, sentencing them to a total of over 60 years in prison. The court session addressing the charges against these eleven activists was held on Friday, February 10, 2024. These activists were charged with 'assembly and collusion,' 'forming a group with the aim of undermining national security,' and 'membership in a group.' According to the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, in 2023, at least 22 women were executed in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, 325 female activists were arrested, and 147 women activists were sentenced to imprisonment, flogging, and execution. The report states that 139 female activists were sentenced to a total of over 553 years in prison, and 10 of them were sentenced to a total of 557 lashes. Eleven women's rights activists in Gilan were sentenced to a total of over 60 years in prison for 'assembly and collusion.' The court session addressing the charges against twelve women's rights activists in Rasht was held. The court session addressing the charges against the arrested activists in Gilan will be held on Friday, February 10. The monthly report of 'Hengaw' on the violation of women's rights in Iran: execution, arrest, imprisonment, and flogging. Continued lack of news about Sharifeh Mohammadi in Sanandaj prison; a legal case has been opened against her husband. Three weeks of lack of news about a jailed labor activist in Sanandaj; Sharifeh Mohammadi's family is worried. Reports of 'mass arrests' of civil women activists in Rasht. Two journalists and an environmental activist were arrested in Rasht. Yasamin Hashemi was released; they told Forough Sami'niya's mother that they would work with her for another week. Twenty-four social media activists were arrested in Gilan on charges of 'inciting public disorder.'