Imprisonment of Hossein Koushkinajad and Amir Sheibani Zaveh; Arrest of Two Citizens in Zahedan and Rask

News and human rights sources reported the arrest of several citizens including Hossein Koushkinajad, Amir Sheibani Zaveh, Ahmad Ali Kouhkan, and Omar Dorostaran in various cities across Iran. Amir Sheibani Zaveh, a civil activist in Mashhad, announced in his latest Instagram video that he is going to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad to serve a one-year prison sentence. Last week, he had reported on his trial presided over by Judge Hadi Mansouri in Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, stating that the judge accused him of 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic' through connections with the families of the deceased and executed protesters, as well as 'inciting them with the intent to riot.' Another charge against Amir Sheibani Zaveh during the court session was 'wearing shorts to undermine public decency.' Based on these charges, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad sentenced Amir Sheibani Zaveh to one year in prison, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year prohibition on social media activity. Additionally, according to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, on Thursday, April 23, Hossein Koushkinajad, brother of Reza Koushkinajad, who was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022, was detained to serve a one-year prison sentence and transferred to Evin Prison. This transfer occurred on the 19th of Farvardin. A judicial case was opened against Hossein Koushkinajad in 2023 in the Khorramabad Prosecutor's Office, and the indictment was sent to the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran with the charge of 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic,' ultimately leading to his one-year prison sentence. According to the report, a summons for the execution of the sentence for Hossein Koushkinajad was issued on March 5 of last year from Branch 1 of the Evin Prosecutor's Office, but Deputy Prosecutor Mohammad Mehrdadi agreed to suspend the execution of his sentence 'due to his work conditions' until April 19. His brother, Reza Koushkinajad, was also arrested by intelligence forces in Khorramabad in June of last year and transferred to Ilam Prison to serve a two-year sentence. Furthermore, the Baloch Activists Campaign reported that Ahmad Ali Kouhkan, a resident of Zahedan, was arrested after being summoned to the city's intelligence office and transferred to an unknown location. This citizen was among the 'injured from the bloody Friday of Zahedan' in October 2022 and was arrested on April 18 by agents of the Zahedan intelligence office. The Baloch Activists Campaign also reported that a citizen named Omar Dorostaran, from the village of Jiragan in the Rask district, who was 'one of the students of a religious center' in the city of Pishin, has been arrested and taken to an unknown location. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, emphasized in his latest report the gross violations of human rights in Iran. Mohammad Moghimi, a lawyer, previously stated regarding Javaid Rehman's report to VOA that if there is no pressure and public awareness, the Islamic Republic will violate human rights more severely, suppress dissenters, and increase government killings exponentially.