New Sentence Issued by Semnan Revolutionary Court Without Disclosure of Contents, Says Lawyer Hossein Taj
Maryam Akbari Monfared, a political prisoner who has spent 15 years behind bars in Iran without a single day of furlough, was supposed to be released on October 12, 2014. For years, she has courageously sought justice for her siblings who were executed during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. However, an unjust two-year extension of her sentence on baseless charges has kept her imprisoned.
Akbari Monfared filed a formal complaint with the judiciary and the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on October 18, 2016, from prison, demanding an investigation into the execution of her siblings during the 1988 massacre.
This pursuit of justice has resulted in increased pressure, including the denial of medical care, restricted family visits, and her forced transfer to Semnan Prison, far from her children. Authorities have informed her that her release is conditional upon retracting her demand for accountability regarding her siblings’ deaths.
On 13 October in an interview with “Shargh Network,” her lawyer Hossein Taj explained that this new sentence was issued by the Semnan Revolutionary Court based on a sealed envelope, whose contents remain unknown to both the defense and Akbari Monfared.
New accusations without any valid evidence
In this interview, Mr. Hossein Taj added: “I believe there is fundamentally no evidence to link any crime to Ms. Akbari Monfared. The reason is simple: she spent 15 years in prison without a single day of leave, and all her phone calls were closely monitored by prison staff and authorities. Even during her calls with me as her lawyer, someone else would speak to me first before handing the phone to her. This same process was followed in her communications with her family. In such a controlled environment, committing a crime would be impossible. Fortunately, these arguments in the first case led to her acquittal.”
Legal Challenges and Appeal Rejections
Taj clarified: “Despite the numerous objections raised, the court ultimately sentenced Ms. Akbari Monfared to two years in prison for ‘spreading lies’ and one year for ‘propaganda against the regime,’ based on four pages of documents sealed in an envelope. Neither I, as her lawyer, nor Ms. Akbari Monfared, as the defendant, were allowed to see what was written in these four pages. We still don’t know what they contain. We appealed the ruling, but both at the appellate stage and in the request for judicial review, our objections were quickly dismissed, leaving Ms. Akbari Monfared facing an additional two-year sentence (the maximum punishment). This is despite the fact that the evidence provided to her lawyer and explained to the defendant did not establish any clear link to the alleged crimes.”
Transfer to Tehran Requested
Taj also emphasized that Akbari Monfared should be transferred to Tehran to serve her sentence, in accordance with Article 513 of the Criminal Procedure Code. “Two weeks ago, Ms. Akbari Monfared requested the transfer, and prison officials have confirmed that they are legally obligated to carry it out.”
