Hosseyn Ronaghi's Reaction to His Conviction in the Armita Garavand Case: I Will Not Submit to These Illegitimate Rulings

Hosseyn Ronaghi, a human rights activist, rejected the ruling against him regarding the "Armita Garavand" case, which includes a "monetary fine" and "restoration of reputation," stating that he will not comply with this ruling. On Thursday, May 20, he announced on his 'X' page that following a summons to execute the ruling for the payment of the "monetary fine," he declared, "I will not personally and willingly pay any fine. You can block accounts or seize or detain property." He described the basis of the Islamic Republic's judiciary rulings as "injustice" and stated that he does not consider them "legitimate or correct and will not submit to them." This former political prisoner reiterated the emphasis on the "killing" of Armita Garavand and called for the public release of "videos related to inside the metro cabin and other angles of the Shahid Metro station." After rejecting the government narrative about Armita Garavand's death in November 2023, calling the teenager a "victim of government murder," Ronaghi was summoned by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of District 33 of Tehran. The Tehran Criminal Court 2 had previously sentenced Hosseyn Ronaghi in February of last year to pay a fine of 15 million tomans for the charge of "spreading falsehoods in cyberspace with the intent to disturb public opinion" and to restore his reputation by deleting published content from his personal social media pages. Reports indicate that Armita Garavand, a 16-year-old student, was pushed by a hijab enforcer on October 1, 2023, after appearing without mandatory hijab on the Tehran Metro train and fell into a coma. After 28 days, she died. Islamic Republic officials attempted to control the flow of information by preventing independent media access to the hospital where Armita Garavand was treated and to her family, aiming to present a government narrative regarding the circumstances of this teenager's death opposing mandatory hijab. Hosseyn Ronaghi stated: "The rights of women in Iran are not a trench of any government or military commander." Armita Garavand's sister shared a video of her, stating: "These days, we have all become your voice together." A session of Arsham Rezai's interrogation was held in Evin; Hosseyn Ronaghi was released after being informed of the charges. An investigator in Arak rejected a report from the IRGC against a suspect, emphasizing "defense of freedom of expression."