Motahareh Ghonei Sentenced to Imprisonment for Protesting the Sentence of Tomaj Salehi

Motahareh Ghonei, former political secretary of the Islamic Students Association of Tehran University and Medical Sciences, announced her sentencing to 'one year of punitive imprisonment.' This suspended student of Tehran University of Medical Sciences wrote on her social media account on Wednesday, July 4, that 'according to the ruling of the Revolutionary Court, Branch 29, presided over by Judge Ali Mazloom, I have been sentenced to one year of punitive imprisonment for propaganda activities against the regime in favor of anti-revolutionary media.' This former student activist cited the issuance of this sentence as 'protesting the death sentence of Tomaj Salehi and other writings of his.' The Islamic Students Association of Tehran University of Medical Sciences reported on December 15, 2023, that the central committee of the Ministry of Health had suspended Motahareh Ghonei from studying for '24 months.' Ms. Ghonei was arrested on May 1, 2024, and transferred to Evin Prison. She was then temporarily released on May 5 on a bail of 1.2 billion tomans. In May 2022, Motahareh Ghonei was deprived of completing her final semester of dental doctorate studies for 'creating chaos and disorder in the faculty' and was banned from studying for five years. This ruling was later upheld by the disciplinary committee's review council, leading to her exile to Ardabil University. Ms. Ghonei had also been arrested by security forces during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. This student activist previously reported a relapse of her 'autoimmune disease and mild MS' after repeated summons and interrogations and her arrest.