Three-Year Imprisonment Sentence Issued for Azad Amini, Civil Activist from Saqqez

Azad Amini, a civil activist from Saqqez who was arrested on the anniversary of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, has been sentenced to three years in prison. According to a report published by the Hengaw Human Rights Organization on February 12, Amini, a member of the cultural association 'Hewai Zanst' and the environmental association 'Zhiyan Sabz' in Saqqez, was convicted by Branch 1 of the Saqqez Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Javad Mostafaee, on charges of 'participating in gatherings and conspiring against internal security.' The sentence was communicated to him in February of this year, and his previous detention period will also be 'counted.' According to the report, Amini was arrested on Friday, September 15, 1402 (September 6, 2023) in his hometown village of 'Heyjanan' and was transferred to the Saqqez Intelligence Detention Center and then immediately to the Intelligence Office in Sanandaj the following day. After 32 days of detention, he was temporarily released on bail of 900 million tomans on Tuesday, October 17, pending the completion of legal proceedings. Previously, Hengaw reported that this civil activist and Kurdish language teacher was deprived of the right to meet with family and access to a lawyer during his detention. Multiple reports from the Hengaw Human Rights Organization indicate the beginning of a new wave of arrests, with the recent number of detentions reaching four individuals. Based on this report, Saqqez intelligence forces have arrested a citizen identified as Kaveh Rashid Zadeh, 32 years old. Hengaw also reported the continued detention of Zamaneh Zivieh, a civil activist, and the arrests of Moghadad Hassan Nejad, a director and producer, and Mohammad Salimi, all from Saqqez, by the intelligence forces of this city. Shirko Hajazi, the head of the Saqqez football federation, was sentenced to 73 months in prison. The Revolutionary Court sentenced Mahsa Amini's uncle to 64 months in prison and a two-year travel ban. The Islamic Republic's border guards shot at two Kolbars from close range after their arrest. Exclusive: Zhila Mostajer reported that the bank accounts of striking merchants in Mahabad have been blocked.