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Iranwire – Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has described the case against Iranian environmental activists as one of the “most baseless and deceptive” fabricated by Iranian security forces against civil society.
Niloofar Bayani, Homan Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, and Taher Ghadirian, environmental activists, were released after seven years in prison this week.
Mohammadi, in a note posted on her Instagram page, condemned these charges as a “web of lies, fabrications, and baseless accusations” orchestrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against activists.
She criticized the “flawed and regime-dependent judicial system” that sentenced the activists based on these fabricated charges.
Mohammadi slammed the system for resorting to “grueling solitary confinement, lengthy prison terms, and extortion” against the accused.
Referring to open letters by Bayani and Kashani, Mohammadi denounced the “physical and psychological torture, sexual harassment, and death threats” inflicted by the IRGC.
The activists themselves, in their letters, detailed the “relentless mental and emotional abuse, threats of physical and sexual violence, and death threats” they endured during their detention.
Kashani’s letter specifically mentioned being shown the video of Kavous Seyed Emami’s body, likely as a form of torture.
Kavous Seyed Emami died just a month after his arrest during interrogation by the Revolutionary Guards.
The authorities claimed it was suicide, but his family vehemently disputes this.
No independent investigation has been conducted into the death of the prominent Iranian environmentalist.
Additionally, interrogators subjected Kashani’s husband, Homan Jokar, to a mocked execution as further intimidation.
They all worked at the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, dedicated to saving the Iranian cheetah from extinction.
The IRGC intelligence accused them of espionage without presenting evidence.
These activists, along with five others—Abdolreza Kohpayeh, Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Morad Tahbaz, and Kavous Seyed Emami—were charged with “espionage” and “collaboration with hostile countries.”
Subsequently, Bayani and Tahbaz received ten-year sentences, Jokar and Qadirian received eight years, while Rajabi, Kashani, Khaleghi, and Hamid were sentenced to six years each. Kohpayeh received the shortest sentence of four years.
