Sepideh Gholian Spat at Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour in a Closed Court Hearing 'on Behalf of the People'

Sepideh Gholian's brother stated that the trial of this imprisoned civil activist was held on Tuesday, August 22, in a 'closed' session. She not only refused to wear the mandatory hijab but also spat at Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour, an employee of the state television known among some opponents of the Islamic Republic as the 'interrogator-journalist.' Mehdi Gholian wrote on his Instagram that the retrial regarding Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour's complaint was held in 'Branch 1207 of Criminal Court 2 of the Kachoui Judicial Complex,' and although it was supposed to be public, the court was held 'behind closed doors' because Sepideh Gholian did not accept the mandatory hijab. Following Sepideh Gholian's testimony regarding Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour's presence in interrogation sessions, this journalist from the 20:30 program of state television filed a complaint against her. According to Mehdi Gholian, Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour 'finally attended the session after several court sessions' and 'at the judge's order,' but 'for unspecified reasons, the previous judge' who ordered her presence 'was changed, and the case was assigned to a new judge.' In this report, the state television journalist accused Sepideh Gholian of 'espionage' and 'inciting unrest,' and when asked by the lawyers Amir Reysian and Jamal Heydari-Manesh about 'the production of the documentary 'Burnt Design,' she had no answer. Zabihpour also 'repeatedly protested against Sepideh's presence without a headscarf in court,' and the judge stated that due to her lack of mandatory hijab, 'he would issue a second indictment against her.' Mehdi Gholian also mentioned that Ameneh-Sadat Zabihpour claimed in court that 'the people love her and she speaks for the people,' and Sepideh Gholian 'spat in her face at the end of the court session, saying it was on behalf of the people.' Sepideh Gholian emphasized that her presence in court was 'not strictly to defend herself,' but 'for resistance' and 'what the people have achieved with their movement.' Sepideh Gholian, who has been imprisoned since 2018, was released on March 16, 2023, but immediately after her release, she shouted 'Khamenei the tyrant, we will bury you under the ground' in front of Evin prison; following this act and the publication of the video on social media, security officials arrested this civil activist on her way home and returned her to prison. She was sentenced to two years in prison for this slogan and is currently serving that sentence. Max Lux, a member of the German parliament and Sepideh Gholian's political sponsor, previously told the Persian section of Voice of America that 'the regime's arrests and repression do not work.' The U.S. Department of State's Office of Human Rights and Democracy had previously called for the immediate release of Sepideh Gholian, a human rights defender imprisoned in Iran.