Sepideh Gholian Sentenced to Two Years in Prison and Additional Penalties

Sepideh Gholian, a civil rights activist imprisoned in Evin, has been sentenced to two years in prison and two years of deprivation of several citizenship rights. The Emtedad news network reported on Tuesday, July 9, that Gholian, who is held in the women's section of Evin prison, has also been sentenced to a two-year ban on membership in political and social groups, a prohibition on using a smartphone, and a ban on residing in Tehran and neighboring provinces. The Kolbarnews website quoted Mehdi Gholian, Sepideh's brother, stating that her renewed two-year prison sentence is based on charges of 'insulting the leadership.' According to the report, she has also been summoned to Branch 1207 of the Criminal Court 2 of the Kachoui Judicial Complex in Tehran on July 19 regarding a complaint by Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, known as the 'interrogator journalist' of the state media, on charges of 'disturbing public opinion through the dissemination of falsehoods in cyberspace' and 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic in cyberspace.' This political prisoner shouted 'Khamenei is Zahhak, we will bury you underground' after her release on March 15, 2023, and was arrested a few hours later while returning home near Qom. In a letter sent from inside the prison on April 11, which was received by VOA, Gholian emphasized that the agents during her arrest 'spared no humiliation or abuse' and that she was 'severely beaten' and 'dragged' by them. A man in the corridor of Ward 209 of Evin Prison threatened her with 'rape' and said, 'We will tie your hands and feet and deal with you very well.' This civil rights activist emphasized the 'show trials' in Iran, calling the Islamic Republic an 'Islamic execution government' that holds 'humble discoverers of springs and protesters against tyranny' as hostages, and expressed her wish for the overthrow of the 'Zahhak of the time,' stating that she would not participate in any court proceedings. In another letter, which was fully received by VOA on May 21, she wrote: 'I send you greetings from a land where the value and dignity of thought must be sought more than anywhere else in the struggle of tyrants to silence its writers and poets.'