Marzieh Farsi and Forough Taghipour, Political Prisoners, Each Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

The Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced political prisoners Marzieh Farsi and Forough Taghipour, each to 15 years in absentia. According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, this sentence was announced to them by their lawyer on Wednesday, February 25. The charges against these two political prisoners are labeled as 'Baghi' and suspicion of 'membership in opposition groups.' According to the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, the specific charge against 29-year-old Forough Taghipour and 58-year-old Marzieh Farsi is 'collaboration with the People's Mojahedin Organization.' According to the Dabban Legal Consultation and Training Center, the charge of 'Baghi' is considered one of the security charges punishable by death, and under Islamic Penal Code, a 'Baghi' is someone who engages in armed struggle against 'the foundation of the Islamic Republic.' The Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners has reported that Marzieh Farsi and Forough Taghipour, who were informed of their charges on December 9, have been deprived of access to a lawyer and a fair trial. Based on this report, after their arrest in Tehran on August 21, they were initially transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and then to the women's ward of this prison. Previously, the Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported that Forough Taghipour and Marzieh Farsi, who have been arrested and imprisoned before due to their activities, are considered members of families of political prisoners from the 1980s in Iran. According to the Iran Human Rights Center, Marzieh Farsi was released from prison in March 2023 after serving more than two years. Pressure on civil and political activists in Iran has increased in recent months. According to reports from human rights sources, at least 152 people have been arrested by intelligence agencies in Iran in the first month of the new Gregorian year, including 12 women and one child. Explanations by Qasem Bouadi, a lawyer, regarding the charge of 'Baghi' against political prisoners in Iran; the increase in death sentences for the charge of 'Baghi' in recent months; Shahab Nadali, a prisoner from Hamadan, has been sentenced to death; the charge of 'Baghi' for three women in Iran; concerns about the possibility of death sentences for these political prisoners; issuance of death sentences for four Baluch prisoners and the charge of 'Baghi' for a Kurdish social worker.