Prison Sentences for Two Political Activists Participating in Virtual Meeting 'Dialogue for the Rescue of Iran' Confirmed

The 36th branch of the Tehran Court of Appeals confirmed one-year prison sentences for Ghorban Behzadian Nejad and Abdollah Momeni, political activists. On Wednesday, December 20, lawyer Hassan Asadi Zaidabadi announced this news on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the charge against these two political activists was 'propaganda against the regime through participation in the Dialogue for the Rescue of Iran conference.' Abdollah Momeni, a political activist and former student activist, and Ghorban Behzadian Nejad, a political activist, have previously been arrested and imprisoned due to their activities. Following the two-day virtual conference 'Dialogue for the Rescue of Iran,' which included 42 political and civil activists from inside and outside Iran and presented messages from eight political prisoners on the first and second days of Ordibehesht this year, government forces summoned and arrested several participants of this meeting. According to reports, Keyvan Samimi, Ghorban Behzadian Nejad, Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Abdollah Momeni, Aliyeh Matlabi Zadeh, Hashem Aghajeri, and Abdollah Naseri Taheri were among those summoned after participating in this virtual meeting. Imprisoned activists such as Narges Mohammadi and Golrokh Iraei, who participated in this online gathering by presenting papers, faced restrictions such as being banned from meeting with their families. Two other imprisoned activists, Saeed Madani, a sociologist, and Hossein Razag, a political activist, were also charged with 'collusion and conspiracy against national security' following their participation in the 'Dialogue for the Rescue of Iran' conference. The Iranian government's efforts to silence critics through coercive and punitive measures, including imprisonment and threats, have not yielded tangible results so far, and activists inside and outside of prison continue their criticisms and protests in the form of statements, letters, and messages. Abdollah Momeni was also among the signatories of a statement supporting citizens' right to protest against 'wrong policies' and the 'destructive performance of the ruling power' in Shahrivar this year. Also see: A group of political activists: The government ignites the powder keg of the people's anger instead of being accountable. Keyvan Samimi's six-year prison sentence was confirmed. Participation in the 'Dialogue for the Rescue of Iran' conference; Saeed Madani and Hossein Razag were charged. Narges Mohammadi and Golrokh Iraei are still banned from meeting due to their presentation at the 'Rescue Iran' meeting. Aliyeh Matlabi Zadeh was summoned to the Evin Prosecutor's Office; agents clashed and searched her home. Hashem Aghajeri was summoned to the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran.