The Detainees in Pasargad Had No Lawyer and Their Sentences Were Announced Verbally

The website "Human Rights in Iran," which recently reported the issuance of prison sentences for 74 detainees commemorating Cyrus, the Achaemenid king, in Pasargad, cites an "informed source" stating that the detainees were without legal representation and that the judge announced the sentences verbally. On December 15, the website reported that 74 of the detainees from the gathering in Pasargad were sentenced to "one to eight years in prison" in a court presided over by Judge Salavati. It has been said that the detainees are in Adelabad prison in Shiraz. Previously, Ali Salehi, the prosecutor of Shiraz, had officially announced that those he referred to as the "leaders and main instigators" of the gathering in Pasargad, who had "given provocative slogans," were "monitored by security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies" and "were arrested." He did not provide much explanation but referred to the gathering as "norm-breaking." Now, the website "Human Rights in Iran" states that "the head of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz has deprived the detainees of access to a lawyer" and at the same time "has issued a verbal ruling for them." According to the "informed source" speaking to the website "Human Rights in Iran," "these individuals have been asked to write a confession." This source indicates that it is unclear how the ruling was issued, "and the court clerk, when delivering the ruling, told the defendants that anyone who has an objection should say so to have it written down." Iranian judicial officials have yet to officially comment on the identity of the detainees, as well as the charges and potential sentences issued. On November 7, thousands of citizens gathered in Pasargad to commemorate Cyrus, the Achaemenid king, on a day informally referred to as "Cyrus Day." Various slogans were also chanted at that gathering.