Mojgan Keshavarz had been previously sentenced to 23 years and six months in jail for opposing the compulsory Hijab
Women’s rights activist Mojgan Keshavarz faces the trumped-up charge of “corruption on earth,” which could be punished by the death penalty.
Mojgan Keshavarz is an opponent of the compulsory Hijab. She had previously received a sentence of 23.5 years in 2019 for openly opposing the mandatory Hijab but was temporarily released due to illness which made prison conditions unbearable.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, announced on January 17 that “the life of Mojgan Keshavarz is in danger.” A new case has been filed against her on the charge of “corruption on earth,” Mr. Moghimi said.
Mojgan Keshavarz, who has a 12-year-old daughter, was arrested at home in Tehran on April 25, 2019. She was beaten in front of her daughter and subsequently taken to an unknown location. Just before being arrested, Ms. Keshavarz was working as a volunteer to help the flood-stricken residents of Lorestan.
Ms. Keshavarz and two other Hijab protesters, Yasaman Aryani and Monireh Arabshahi, were sentenced to 55 years and six months in prison. The Revolutionary Court of Tehran informed Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavar of their sentences in the absence of their lawyers on July 31, 2019.
Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided by the notorious judge Mohammad Moghiseh, sentenced each of these prisoners to 5 years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security,” one year for “disseminating propaganda against the state,” and ten years for “encouraging and preparing the grounds for corruption and prostitution.”
In addition to these charges, Mojgan Keshavarz has been sentenced to 7.5 years for “insulting the sanctities.” These add up to 55 years and six months in prison for women’s rights activists.
Amnesty International issued a statement on the three women’s rights activists whose arrests are related to a video clip showing them handing flowers to women in a metro wagon on International Women’s Day. Amnesty International wrote, “Making criminals of women and girls who refuse to wear the hijab is an extreme form of discrimination.”
Mona Heydari’s killer sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in prison
In a shocking development, while Ms. Keshavarz has been sentenced to more than 23 years in prison for opposing the mandatory hijab, and the protesters arrested for setting fire to the garbage can are facing death sentences and life imprisonment, the husband of Mona Heydari, who cut off his wife’s head and paraded in the streets with it, was sentenced to 8 years and two months in prison on January 18.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2022, Sajjad Heydari, Mona’s husband and cousin, marched in Khashayar Square in Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. With a dirty grin, he held Mona’s head in his hand.
Mona Heydari, whose real name is Ghazal and who was only 17 years old, was forced into marriage at age 12 and had a 3-year-old son who now lives with his grandmother.
Mona was a victim of domestic violence. She had filed for divorce several times, but her family persuaded her to continue living with her husband for the sake of her child. Eventually, Mona fled to Turkey to escape her husband’s violence.
According to Abbas Hosseini Pouya, the prosecutor of Ahvaz, Mona’s father returned her to Iran. When her husband found out Mona was in Ahvaz, he dared to kill her. (The state-run IMNA news agency – February 8, 2022)
