Iranian authorities have imposed a jail sentence of greater than 5 years on the uncle of Mahsa Amini, the younger Iranian Kurdish girl whose loss of life sparked months of protests, over anti-government views expressed in the course of the 2022 demonstrations, rights teams mentioned on Tuesday. .
Safa Aeli, 30, was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in jail by the Revolutionary Court docket within the household’s hometown of Saqez, in northwestern Iran, in response to the Norway-based Hengaw group and the US-based Human Rights Activists Information Company (HRANA).
As well as, he was punished with sanctions, together with a extremely uncommon requirement to supply a written doc outlining the biography of a member of the safety forces killed within the protests, after which his “personal private interpretation” of the finished doc to the judicial authorities. Hengaw mentioned.
He was subsequently ordered to put up a voice message in regards to the work on his social media accounts and was in any other case banned from expressing his views on the protests.
HRANA, quoting household lawyer Saleh Nikbakht, mentioned a part of the sentence had been suspended and Aeli must serve three years and 6 months in jail.
The costs in opposition to him embody collaborating in protests that violated inner safety, spreading anti-government propaganda and insulting Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Aeli is at present out on bail following his arrest in September 2023, shortly earlier than the one-year anniversary of his niece’s loss of life.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died in hospital on September 16, 2022 after being arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict gown code for girls.
Her household and activists say she was killed in custody by a blow to the top, however that is denied by Iranian officers.
In keeping with HRANA, Aeli was launched on bail in October 2023. In Iran, it’s common for convicts to be abruptly summoned to serve lengthy sentences, with just a few days’ discover.
Protests following Amini’s loss of life shocked Iran’s Islamic authorities however have now died down following a crackdown with rights teams saying a whole lot had been killed and the UN made 1000’s of arrests.
Rights teams say 9 males have been executed in circumstances linked to the protests.
Iranian authorities say dozens of safety personnel have additionally been killed in what they describe as “riots” incited by international governments and hostile media.
