Prison Sentences for Two Mothers of Victims from November 2019 Protests Upheld by Appeals Court

The prison sentences of Mahbubeh Ramazani, mother of Pejman Gholipour, and Rahimeh Youssefzadeh, mother of Navid Behboudi, victims of the November 2019 protests, were upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court. Previously, these two mothers had each been sentenced to 18 months and one day in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shahriar. Reza Shafakhah, the defense attorney for Ms. Ramazani and Ms. Youssefzadeh, wrote on the social media platform 'X' on Thursday, December 8: 'Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court confirmed the ruling issued by Branch 2 of the Shahriar Revolutionary Court regarding Mahbubeh Ramazani and Rahimeh Youssefzadeh and rejected the appeal.' A few days ago, Mahbubeh Ramazani, alongside Rahimeh Youssefzadeh, commemorated the memory of their children and other victims of the November 2019 protests, stating: 'As long as the mothers of November are alive, November continues.' The November 2019 protests erupted following a sudden increase in gasoline prices on the night of November 15, spreading to 54 cities, leading the Islamic Republic to cut off internet access and carry out a massacre of protesters in various cities. Reuters reported on January 22, 2020, citing sources within the Iranian government, that around 1,500 protesters were killed during the crackdown. In this context, the Iran Human Rights Campaign called for the establishment of a fact-finding committee under the supervision of the United Nations to investigate the suppression of protesters. Additionally, a group of mothers seeking justice from the November 2019 protests stated: 'We neither forgive nor forget.' Families seeking justice have called for the abolition of the death sentences for political prisoners. Mothers seeking justice in Boukan held the second anniversary of the killing of their loved ones. The Iranian Writers' Association stated that the government's behavior towards those seeking justice reflects desperation.