Mehrdad Bakhtiari, Uncle of Justice-Seeking Pouya Bakhtiari, Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Mehrdad Bakhtiari, the uncle of justice-seeker Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests, has been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Karaj to six years in prison, a two-year travel ban, and two years of exile to Shahrekord. The hearing for his charges took place on February 17, presided over by Judge Seyyed Mousa Asf al-Hosseini in the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj. According to the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, HRANA, Mr. Bakhtiari stated that he was sentenced to one year in prison for 'propaganda against the regime' and five years for 'collusion and conspiracy against national security,' along with a two-year travel ban and two years of exile to Shahrekord. This case is related to July 2022, where Mehrdad Bakhtiari and Nahid Shirpicheh, the mother of imprisoned and justice-seeking Pouya Bakhtiari, were jointly accused. Pouya Bakhtiari's uncle had previously criticized the pressures on this justice-seeking family, stating, 'The only thing that has been imposed on us, the Bakhtiari family, in these four years has been oppression and torment.' Monouchehr Bakhtiari and Nahid Shirpicheh, Pouya Bakhtiari's parents, are currently imprisoned on charges such as 'collusion and conspiracy against the regime' and 'propaganda against the regime.' Monouchehr Bakhtiari, held in Chubin Prison in Qazvin, was recently sentenced to six months in prison for 'insulting the leadership.' This political prisoner, who was arrested at his home in Tehran in 2021, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, two and a half years of exile, and a two-year travel ban. Recently, he was also sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Karaj to 18 years in prison and 74 lashes in another case. Saba Bakhtiari, Monouchehr Bakhtiari's sister, reacted to the charges against her brother and the 18-year prison sentence and 74 lashes, stating to Voice of America that he has done nothing but seek justice for his child and for the land of Iran, and 'our people's struggle' against the Islamic Republic continues without fear of imprisonment. Several families of justice-seekers, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the November 2019 protests, released a joint statement reminding the killing of hundreds of protesters by Iranian government forces and emphasized the continuation of 'November.' Monouchehr Bakhtiari's health has deteriorated in prison due to urinary tract obstruction and severe blood pressure drops. The pressure on justice-seeking families continues as Mehrdad Bakhtiari is tried in the Revolutionary Court of Karaj. Families of justice-seekers marked the fourth anniversary of the suppression of protests: November continues. The anniversary of Pouya Bakhtiari's birth was held with expressions of 'hope' for 'the rebirth of Iran.'