Sentencing of Imprisonment and Other Punishments for Two Lawyers in Tehran and Mashhad

A human rights source reported that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic issued separate rulings sentencing two lawyers in Tehran and Mashhad to imprisonment and supplementary punishments. According to a report on Sunday, January 30, from the media organization of human rights activists in Iran, the Tehran Court of Appeals upheld a six-year prison sentence for lawyer Taher Naqvi, while in Mashhad, the Revolutionary Court sentenced another lawyer, Khosrow Ali-Kordi, to one year in prison. The report states that the ruling against Taher Naqvi, a lawyer imprisoned in Evin, was confirmed by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, which upheld the six-year sentence and supplementary punishments including a travel ban, deprivation of social rights, and membership in political parties for two years, as issued by Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Abolqasem Salavati. The website HRANA reported on Sunday, citing a source close to Naqvi's family, that 'the reference to support from foreign news networks and television channels' for this lawyer was 'one of the reasons presented in the Court of Appeals for upholding the initial ruling and declaring' Taher Naqvi guilty. Taher Naqvi was arrested by the Islamic Republic's intelligence forces on February 6, 2023, and transferred to Evin Prison. During his arrest, he also faced new charges, including 'disturbing public order' in prison and 'insulting prison officials.' Mr. Naqvi suffers from illnesses including 'prostate issues, problems in the spinal area, hands, and knees' and has been deprived of the right to treatment and 'appropriate medical care' during his imprisonment. Additionally, the human rights activists' organization in Iran reported that the fifth branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad sentenced Khosrow Ali-Kordi, a lawyer, to one year in prison on charges of propaganda against the regime. The hearing for this lawyer's charges was held in October in the fifth branch of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, presided over by 'Judge Yazdankhah,' and while Mr. Ali-Kordi was serving his previous sentence under 'open ruling,' he was re-arrested earlier this month after being summoned by the supervising judge of Vakilabad Prison. Mr. Ali-Kordi was previously sentenced to one year in prison, two years of exile to the city of Nehbandan, two years of travel ban, two years of deprivation of the right to work in the legal profession, and two years of prohibition from participating in social media for 'propaganda activities in favor of opposition groups to the Islamic Republic.' This lawyer was also fined 15 million tomans in the Mashhad Criminal Court 2 for 'spreading falsehoods through computer systems and failing to maintain secrets.' Khosrow Ali-Kordi had previously emphasized in a message that he was sentenced to imprisonment, exile, and social deprivations solely for informing about his clients' cases. The report also mentions reactions from users regarding the killing of Maghiseh and Razini, the confirmation of prison sentences for ten civil activists by the Tehran Court of Appeals, and calls from activists to global institutions to prevent the imposition of compulsory hijab on female athletes.