Mansoureh Behkish: Previous Sentence Was Not Completed, A New Case Was Opened

Mansoureh Behkish, who lost four brothers, a sister, and her son-in-law during the crackdowns of the 1980s and is a member of the 'Mothers and Families of Khavaran', is at a crossroads regarding whether to stay abroad or return to Iran following the confirmation of her 7.5-year prison sentence. Behkish states that she will appeal the ruling issued against her. She traveled abroad to visit her child and learned about the sentence through her lawyer. Six members of the Behkish family were victims between 1981 and 1988; Mohammad Behkish and Siamak Asadian (the family’s son-in-law) were killed in 1981, Zahra and Mohsen Behkish in 1983 and 1985, and Mahmoud and Ali Behkish in September 1988. Niyere Jalali Mohajer, one of the Mothers of Khavaran, lost five children and her son-in-law during the 1980s crackdowns. Mansoureh Behkish refers to her previous sentence in 2011, which included six months of imprisonment and three and a half years of suspended sentence, stating that in 2016, while traveling abroad, her passport was confiscated at the airport, and a new case was opened against her with the same charges just two months before her suspended sentence was set to expire. This family survivor describes her charges as 'propaganda against the regime' and 'collusion and conspiracy against security', for which she was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on January 3. The Iranian regime's reliance on such charges against political, civil, and labor activists is common. According to Mansoureh Behkish, her previous four years of imprisonment have been added to her new sentence, and she now faces a total of 11.5 years in prison. She adds that she does not wish to remain abroad and finds it very difficult to start a new life at the age of nearly 60, even though her family and friends advise her not to return.