Civil rights activists sentenced to prison and flogging for attending protests

11 civil rights activists who were arrested during the December 2017/January 2018 were sentenced to prison and flogging by the 1st Branch of the Markazi Province Court of Appeal.

According to this sentence, human rights lawyer Mohammad Najafi, Ali Bagheri, and Abbas Safari were each sentenced to three years of prison and 74 lashes.

Behzad Ali Bakhshi, Mohammad Yaghoubi, Yousef Shiri Lord, Neda Yousefi, Davoud Rahimi, Masoud Ajlou and Mohammad Torabi were each sentenced to one year behind bars and 74 lashes suspended for five years.

Kian Sadeghi was also sentenced to three years of prison and 74 lashes suspended for five years.

Human rights lawyer Mohammad Najafi was arrested on January 15, 2018, by Intelligence Ministry agents after he revealed that Vahid Heydari, 22, was beaten at the 12th Police Station in Arak before his death in early January. He revealed how local police concealed the true cause of death of a young man in their custody.

Najafi was released on bail in the city of Arak on April 17, 2018, nearly three months after he told media outlets that his client, Mohammad Heydari, was killed while he was in police custody after being arrested during Iran’s December 2017 protests.