Exclusive; Hamidreza Dorostkar, Political Activist, Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison

An informed source told Voice of America that the criminal courts of Behbahan and the Revolutionary Court of Mahshahr have sentenced a political activist in absentia to a total of eight years in prison and a monetary fine. According to the source, Hamidreza Dorostkar, a political activist and protester from Behbahan who has previously faced legal issues due to his activities, is facing 'four new rulings' in two branches of the Behbahan Criminal Court and the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court. Based on existing documents, the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahshahr sentenced Hamidreza Dorostkar on December 24 to six months for 'insulting the leader' and one year and three months for 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic,' but acquitted him of the charge of 'inciting people to war, murder, and riots, and disrupting national security.' Additionally, branch 103 of the second criminal court of Behbahan rejected this protester's request for appeal on December 19, but reduced the primary court's sentence of five years for 'insulting the sacred' to one year based on the 'law of reducing punitive imprisonment.' Meanwhile, according to the informed source, branch 103 of the second criminal court of Behbahan announced that the 'five-year prison' sentence for Hamidreza Dorostkar remains in effect, with 'half of it enforceable and the other half suspended for five years in exchange for not engaging in freedom-seeking activities.' Furthermore, branch 101 of the second criminal court of Behbahan has also sentenced Hamidreza Dorostkar to pay 18 million tomans in fines. The informed source told Voice of America that due to increased pressures on Hamidreza Dorostkar, including 'threats of arrest,' this activist from Behbahan has been 'living in hiding' since July of this year. Previously, the media organization of the Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that branch one of the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office in Behbahan had issued a 'summons for prosecution' for Hamidreza Dorostkar, and prior to that, branch four of the prosecutor's office had issued a 'summons' for him. Hamidreza Dorostkar spent four months in detention during the nationwide protests of 2022. According to HRANA, on November 10, branch 103 of the second criminal court of Behbahan sentenced him to one year in prison for 'disrupting public order and comfort' through participation in protests, 74 lashes for 'spreading falsehoods in cyberspace,' and one year in prison for 'promoting violence in cyberspace,' which was concluded with an 'amnesty directive.'