Shiva Esmaeli, a political prisoner and mother of three, has been sentenced to ten years in prison by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court following her arrest in November 2020.
Born in 1965, Esmaeili holds a degree in agricultural engineering and is a resident of Tehran. She was arrested on political grounds without legal transparency and has since endured years of imprisonment and resistance behind bars.
On May 14, 2023, after months of uncertainty, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court handed down her sentence: five years for “assembly and collusion,” one year for “propaganda against the state,” and four years for “acting against national security.” As supplementary punishment, Shiva Esmaeli was also banned from leaving the country and from engaging in political and social activities for two years.
Significantly, the verdict was issued in the absence of her defense lawyer and formally communicated to her on May 28, 2023. During the trial, the presiding judge explicitly stated that she was being given the maximum penalty due to what he called the “repetition of political offenses.” She is currently detained in the notorious Qarchak Prison.
The state’s pressure has extended beyond Esmaeili herself: two of her children, Seyed Mehdi Vafaei Sani and Seyed Ali Vafaei Sani, are also currently serving their prison terms.
Meanwhile, the situation of another female political prisoner, Arghavan Fallahi, remains critical.
Nearly 200 days after her arrest, Arghavan Fallahi continues to be held without charge or due process. She was recently transferred from the Greater Tehran Pentitentiary to Qarchak Prison in Varamin and has been denied access to a lawyer, contact with her family, and a fair trial.
