Majid Tavakoli's Wife Reports Confirmation of Five-Year Prison Sentence Based on 'Intelligence Letter'

Majid Tavakoli's wife, a political prisoner, announced based on a letter from the Ministry of Intelligence that the previous sentence of five years in prison and two years of exile has been confirmed. Maryam Tabandeh wrote on the social media platform 'X' on Tuesday, January 30, that the 'Intelligence letter' states that this political prisoner is 'seeking to overthrow the regime' of the Islamic Republic and 'establish a liberal government,' therefore 'the ruling of Branch 36 is confirmed in its entirety.' According to Majid Tavakoli's wife, the previous sentence, namely 'five years of prison, two years of exile, and prohibition from virtual space,' has been confirmed for this political prisoner. This comes as last week, Masoud Ahmadian, Majid Tavakoli's lawyer, announced that the request for retrial for this political prisoner has been accepted by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic, which deemed him 'not guilty regarding the attributed charges.' According to the ruling of Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals, which was communicated to his lawyer in September, Majid Tavakoli was sentenced to five years in prison for the charge of 'collusion and conspiracy against national security' and one year in prison for 'propaganda against the regime.' Additionally, 'two years of exile from Tehran, prohibition of virtual activity, and prohibition of leaving the country' were also issued as 'supplementary sentences' for him. Majid Tavakoli is a political activist in Iran who was first imprisoned in the second half of the 2000s due to student activism. He is known for writing and publishing political and social analyses about Iranian society, and he was last arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 and temporarily released after 88 days. Mr. Tavakoli is currently serving his sentence in Evin Prison. A group of Iranian users on the social media platform X recently supported Majid Tavakoli, describing him as a 'patriotic activist' and 'brave analyst' who is imprisoned 'for the crime of writing' and emphasized that 'writing the truth is not a crime.'