Lawyer of Sedigheh Vasmaghi Protests Her Heavy Bail

The lawyer of Sedigheh Vasmaghi, an Islamic scholar and spokesperson for the first term of Tehran's City Council, stated that his client has lost 90% of her eyesight and described the bail set for this writer as 'disproportionate,' adding that she cannot afford it. Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai also reported that his client has been sentenced to five years in prison on two charges: 'membership in the committee supporting victims of the events of 2009' and 'membership in the website Jaras (Green Path of Hope Movement),' a sentence that is subject to appeal. On Friday, November 5, in an interview with the Iran Human Rights Campaign website, Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai mentioned that his client had previously been tried in absentia in the Revolutionary Court and sentenced to five years in prison. According to Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai, Ms. Vasmaghi was retried in the Revolutionary Court due to the in absentia nature of the previous ruling, and the previous five-year sentence was reiterated. He announced that the only evidence presented regarding his client's charges was a report from judicial agents. Sedigheh Vasmaghi, who was temporarily detained upon her return to Iran, was arrested on Sunday, October 30, after appearing at the Revolutionary Court and transferred to Evin Prison. According to the Zeytoon website, she was tried in a '12-minute court session' presided over by Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh, head of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, and a bail of one billion tomans was set for her. However, due to her inability to provide the bail, she was detained and transferred to Evin Prison. Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai also stated that the bail set for his client is 'disproportionate' and that she cannot afford it. He emphasized that his client has lost 90% of her eyesight and medical documents have been submitted to the court. Ms. Vasmaghi was tried in absentia on July 6, 2014, in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court and sentenced to five years in prison. According to Mr. Alizadeh Tabatabai, Ms. Vasmaghi has denied involvement in managing the Jaras website and stated that regarding 'membership in the committee supporting victims of the events of 2009,' this committee was established by the approval of the third conservative city council, and membership in it was not a crime. In a letter to Hassan Rouhani last year, Ms. Vasmaghi mentioned her decision to return to Iran, stating: 'The 50s and 60s of life that my husband and I are in are not a season for enduring exile. On the other hand, given my physical condition and especially my severe visual impairment, enduring prison also seems difficult.' This writer and poet also stated in this letter that she left Iran in 2011 after being invited by the University of Göttingen in Germany for a semester of teaching in the Department of Islamic Studies, but after that, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence 'attacked' her legal office and 'searched this office with an arrest warrant,' taking her personal belongings with them. According to this letter, in 2009, the Ministry of Intelligence had also 'summoned and threatened' Ms. Vasmaghi. In recent years, several political activists and journalists have been arrested and imprisoned after returning to Iran. Bahman Darolshafayi, Sirajeddin Mirdamadi, Saeed Rezavi Faqih, Mostafa Azizi, Sajedeh Arab-Sorkhi, and Kazem Barjasteh are among those who have been arrested after returning to Iran. Additionally, the Iranian judiciary has sentenced several journalists, cultural activists, and political activists outside the country to prison in absentia. For instance, last February, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court issued in absentia rulings against Googoosh, Nikahang Kowsar, Saeed Karimian, Marzieh Armin, Tara Inanlu, and several other Iranian figures abroad, published in the Hamayat newspaper affiliated with the judiciary.