Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) – The Court of Appeal has upheld the eight and a half year imprisonment sentence for Arsham Rezaee, a civil activist.
According to Iran Human Rights, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Zargar, has upheld the ruling from the court of first instance for the civil activist, Arsham Rezaee.
Arsham was tried at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, and convicted of “conspiracy to act against national security, propaganda against the system, insulting the leadership, and alcohol possession” and sentenced to a total of eight years and six months in prison.
Following the Court of Appeals ruling, Arsham will need to serve five years, the most severe sentence, if Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code is applied.
Speaking to IHR, Arsham said: “I was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison by Judge Moghiseh in the court of first instance, but my hearing only lasted for 5 minutes! This is while I was denied the right to a lawyer at all stages of my legal proceedings. The judgment by Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal states that I did not present a well-founded objection. This is because there was no right of defence in my appeal against the judgment of the court of first instance, that is why every conviction issued against me was upheld by the appellate court and I was notified of it.”
Arsham Rezaee was arrested by IRGC intelligence forces on a street in Tehran on January 8, 2017, and taken to Ward2A of Evin Prison. After enduring two weeks of interrogations in solitary confinement, he was transferred to the quarantine section of Evin Prison and finally to the general population. He was temporarily released on a bail of 200 million Tomans on November 13, 2019.
