{"id":622,"date":"2015-05-20T19:01:37","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T19:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/?p=622"},"modified":"2019-05-08T10:48:44","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T10:48:44","slug":"young-activist-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-prison-for-facebook-postings-and-peaceful-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.bashariyat.org\/?p=622","title":{"rendered":"Young Activist Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Facebook Postings and Peaceful Protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

A young civil activist who has been held at Evin Prison since October 2014 has been sentenced to seven years in prison at her interrogator\u2019s urging, a source close to the case told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, for her Facebook postings and her participation in peaceful gatherings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Atena Daemi, 27, who was held for several months under \u201ctemporary detention\u201d despite her lawyer\u2019s repeated requests for her release on bail, was prosecuted under four charges: \u201cassembly and collusion against national security,\u201d \u201cpropaganda against the state,\u201d \u201cinsulting the Supreme Leader and the sacred,\u201d and \u201cconcealing crime evidence\u201d by a Tehran Revolutionary Court. Daemi did not accept any of her charges and has since appealed the court\u2019s ruling.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll charges are based on her posts on Facebook, information stored on her cellular phone, and her participation in gatherings against the death penalty and gatherings in support of the children of Kobane [in Syria],\u201d the source told the Campaign. Daemi and her lawyer were informed of the sentence on May 12.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daemi, who worked at the Revolution Sports Club in Tehran, was arrested on October 21, 2014, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and has been in detention in Evin Prison ever since. Her trial was held on March 7, 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was accused of \u2018insulting the Supreme Leader and the sacred\u2019 because of some jokes and some Shahin Najafi [protest] songs found on her cell phone. Other than these, there is no other [evidence of] actions Atena may have taken about these two charges. She has repeatedly apologized and explained that she meant no insult,\u201d said the source.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMany people in Iran may have these songs and jokes on their cell phones, but they are not charged or sent to prison. It is clear in Atena\u2019s case that the interrogator\u2019s personal taste is at work,\u201d added the source.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAtena was convicted of \u2018assembly and collusion against national security,\u2019 and \u2018propaganda against the state,\u2019 for her opposition to forced hijab [female dress] through her Facebook posts, and her opposition to the capital punishment through participating in gatherings, as well as gatherings she attended to protest the situation of Kobane children [in Syria],\u201d the source added.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarding evidence for the charge of \u201cconcealing crime evidence,\u201d the source told the Campaign, \u201cAtena was asked to provide the password to the Facebook page of one of her friends, who is also imprisoned, during interrogations. Atena swore that she had forgotten the password, but her interrogator believed that she was lying and that she was hiding the crime evidence.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHer family is hopeful that her case [will be] reviewed based on justice, humanity, and the law at the appeals level, and not based on personal taste. This girl has done nothing intentionally to deserve four charges and seven years in prison,\u201d said the source.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The source told the Campaign that Daemi is thoroughly devastated by the sentence. \u201cAtena was very hopeful of being acquitted and released, but now she faces seven years in prison. It means she will have to spend the best years of her life at Evin. She is in such dire shape, her family have sent her tranquilizers.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atena Daemi and four other young individuals by the names of Omid Alishenas, Ali Nouri, Atena Feraghdani, and Asveh Rostami, were separately interrogated in the same case. Atena Feraghdani\u2019s case was later separated and reviewed independently. The Campaign does not have any information about the outcome of the other individuals\u2019 prosecution.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A young civil activist who has been held at Evin Prison since October 2014 has been sentenced to seven years in prison at her interrogator\u2019s urging, a source close to the case told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, for her Facebook postings and her participation in peaceful gatherings.<\/p>

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