Marjan Es’haghi, a student of political sciences at Tehran University, received a total of five years’ imprisonment for participating in the November 2019 protests.
Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Marjan Es’haghi to 1 year in prison and 4 years of suspended jail sentence on November 11. Marjan Es’haghi was arrested after participating in a student gathering at Tehran University on November 17 as she was leaving the campus.
Agents of the Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence took her to Ward 2A of Evin Prison which is the IRGC’s detention center. On December 4, 2019, the IRGC released her on bail after 18 days of interrogation, until completion of the legal procedure. Ms. Es’haghi is charged with “assembly and collusion against national security.”
Handing down prison sentences for participants in the November 2019 protests, is part of the regime’s efforts to prevent outbreak of protests. The clerical regime’s Intelligence Ministry has also launched a new wave of arrests over the past week in various cities of Iran, arresting former political prisoners and summoning others to report to prison.
In yet another measure against freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the regime’s Judiciary arrested a journalist from Ahvaz.
Mehrnoush Tafian, married with a young son, is a freelance journalist who reported on environmental issues and problems of workers and slum dwellers. Some of her reports had appeared in the state-run Mehr news agency and Asr-e Jonub website.
Ms. Tafian appeared before Branch 13 of the Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz on October 29, 2020. Since she did not afford to deposit her bail, security forces took her to Prison where she remains incarcerated. No information is available on the reasons for her arrest and charges.
