Maryam Akbari Monfared, Political Prisoner, Sentenced to Three More Years in Prison

The Semnan Criminal Court has sentenced Maryam Akbari Monfared, a veteran political prisoner and a member of the families of the victims, to three years in prison in a new case. According to the human rights organization "Hengaw", the charges against Ms. Akbari Monfared, 48, and mother of three, include "propaganda against the regime", "collusion and conspiracy against national security", and "insulting" Khamenei. In another case earlier this year, she was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 15 million tomans for "spreading falsehoods in cyberspace". Dozens of women activists had previously described the "fabrication of cases" against Maryam Akbari Monfared as "revenge by the judiciary for her advocacy" and called for her "immediate and unconditional release". This political prisoner, who has served more than 14 years of her initial 15-year sentence, has been denied the right to leave prison and was exiled from Evin Prison in Tehran to Semnan Prison about three years ago. Ms. Akbari Monfared lost three brothers and one sister during the 1980s, including in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. She was arrested in 2009 and sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to 15 years in prison on charges such as "supporting the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization", "moharebeh" (waging war against God), and "acting against national security". Several international organizations have criticized the imprisonment of this political prisoner and called for her release. In this regard, Amnesty International has stated that "truth-seeking and justice" is the right of all survivors of the 1980s executions and emphasized that Maryam Akbari Monfared must be "immediately and unconditionally" released. According to Hengaw, following Maryam Akbari Monfared's complaint in 2016, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances recognized her siblings, Rogheyeh and Abdolreza Monfared, as "enforced disappearances" and demanded explanations from the Iranian government regarding their fate. Reports of the poor conditions of prisoners in Iran emerged two days after the publication of Javid Rahman's report. A Twitter storm in support of a political prisoner; Maryam Akbari Monfared has not had leave in the past 12 years. Two human rights organizations have called for the immediate release of Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner.