Kalameh: Seven Years Imprisonment, Final Verdict for Facebook Activists

The Kalameh website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported on Saturday, April 29, that the 'final' verdict for six defendants in the case known as Facebook activists has been 'officially' announced to them. According to this website, five of the defendants named Masoud Seyed Talebi, Farid Akrami Pour, Fariborz Karda Farid, Masoud Qasemkhani, and Amir Golestani have been sentenced to seven years of 'enforceable' imprisonment on charges of 'conspiracy and collusion against national security.' The website stated that these individuals have also been sentenced to other 'non-enforceable' penalties for charges such as 'insulting the leadership, officials, and sacred values.' The mention of 'enforceable' imprisonment and 'non-enforceable' penalties could refer to punitive and suspended imprisonment. If the sentences of punitive imprisonment are confirmed in subsequent stages, the defendants must serve the designated prison term. In the case of suspended sentences, if the defendant is not convicted of a similar crime during the period specified by the court, this sentence will not be enforced. The Kalameh website also reported that Mehdi Rishahri, another defendant in this case, has been sentenced to five years of 'enforceable' imprisonment. According to this website, it has been 'reported' that Roya Saberi Nobakht, an Iranian-British citizen and another defendant in this case, has also received a 'similar sentence.' Iranian media reported on July 22, 2014, that eight social media activists were sentenced to a total of 127 years in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh. According to the IRNA news agency, the defendants in this case were sentenced to 21, 20, 19, 18, 16, 14, 11, and 8 years of imprisonment. This news agency did not mention the names of these individuals. Meanwhile, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran had previously mentioned Masoud Seyed Talebi, 21, as the youngest defendant in this case, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. This website reported on Thursday, January 29, 2015, citing an 'informed source,' that the judge of Branch 54 of the Tehran Court of Appeals had 'rejected' the primary court's ruling regarding this case. This 'informed source' also described the ruling of the appeals court as 'ambiguous,' stating that the judge did not specify the punishment for each defendant and left it to the execution judge. However, the Kalameh website in its report on Saturday wrote: 'Finally, after multiple back-and-forths and contradictory statements from Judge Pour Arab, including that he faced opposition from the Tehran prosecutor and the IRGC regarding the violation of issued sentences, the highest prison sentences have been confirmed.' According to reports, the defendants in the case known as Facebook activists come from various cities in Iran, including Yazd, Shiraz, Abadan, Kerman, and Tehran, and their case consists of about 11 volumes. The International Campaign for Human Rights had previously reported that these eight individuals had various Facebook pages with names such as 'Imam,' 'Wiki-Face,' 'The Loneliest Woman,' 'Dog Life,' 'Coral Fish,' 'The Loneliest Man,' 'When We Start Walking, Our Fear Disappears,' and 'The Generation of the 50s.' Iman Mirzazadeh, the lawyer for one of the defendants, stated that they did not know each other and met for the 'first time' in Ward 350 of Evin Prison. According to Mr. Mirzazadeh, the management of some of these pages was shared among several people, which is why this case was consolidated.