Majid Tavakoli's Prison Sentence Reduced to Two Years

Relatives of Majid Tavakoli, a political activist imprisoned in Evin prison, say that after the annulment of his six-year prison sentence by the Supreme Court, this sentence has been reduced to two years. The news agency HRANA reported on Tuesday, December 25, citing a source close to Mr. Tavakoli's family, that after the annulment of his six-year prison sentence by the Supreme Court, Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals ultimately sentenced him to two years in prison for the charge of 'collusion and conspiracy.' According to this report, however, the court fully upheld the supplementary punishments for Majid Tavakoli, which include a ban on leaving the country, a ban on residing in Tehran, and a ban on social media activities for two years. In July 2023, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Majid Tavakoli to five years for 'collusion and conspiracy against national security' and one year for 'propaganda against the regime,' with only the heavier five-year sentence needing to be enforced. This sentence was fully upheld in early September of the same year by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, but the Supreme Court accepted a request for retrial and sent his case for reconsideration to an equivalent branch. Mr. Tavakoli's lawyers stated that the Supreme Court did not find their client guilty of the attributed charges. Majid Tavakoli, who was imprisoned for five years following the 2009 protests, was detained for about three months during the protests of 2022. He was then sent back to prison in November 2023.