Golrokh Iraee refused to ask for pardon or appear before court of appeal
On 19 June 2023, the woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee announced she will not ask for a pardon as she believes that she has been prosecuted solely due to her human rights work; nor will she appear before the court of appeals as she does not recognise the revolutionary court as a competent or independent judicial body.
On 11 April 2023, Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee to six years in prison on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security” and one year in prison on the charge of producing “propaganda against the state.” According to this verdict, the woman human rights defender has additionally been sentenced to a two year travel ban, a ban on living in Tehran, and a two year ban on membership of political and social groups.
Golrokh Iraee is a woman human rights defender and anti-death penalty activist working on the documentation of human rights violations, predominantly inside Iranian prisons. She has extensively reported on abuses and violations committed by the authorities against human rights defenders such as torture, ill treatment and refusal of access to a lawyer, including during the mass protests which have been ongoing in Iran since September 2022.
On 19 June 2023, the woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee announced she will not ask for a pardon as she believes that she has been prosecuted solely due to her human rights work; nor will she appear before the court of appeals as she does not recognise the revolutionary court as a competent or independent judicial body.
Since 4 February 2023, as part of a general amnesty announced by the Iranian judiciary on the occasion of 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, hundreds of prisoners including human rights defenders were released from prison. Golrokh Iraee was told to ask for a pardon in the context of this amnesty scheme, but will not do so as she believes she is only being targeted as a result of her human rights work and that the charges against her have no legitimacy.
On 11 April 2023, Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee to six years in prison on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security” and one year in prison on the charge of producing “propaganda against the state.” According to this verdict, the woman human rights defender has additionally been sentenced to a two-year travel ban, a ban on living in Tehran, and a two-year ban on membership of political and social groups. This sentence is based on her participation in protests, as well as her social media posts about protesters who were killed or arrested during the protests which began in September 2022.
On 11 April 2023, Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee to six years in prison on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security” and one year in prison on the charge of producing “propaganda against the state.” According to this verdict, the woman human rights defender has additionally been sentenced to a two year travel ban, a ban on living in Tehran, and a two year ban on membership of political and social groups.
Golrokh Iraee is a woman human rights defender and anti-death penalty activist working on the documentation of human rights violations, predominantly inside Iranian prisons. She has extensively reported on abuses and violations committed by the authorities against human rights defenders such as torture, ill treatment and refusal of access to a lawyer, including during the mass protests which have been ongoing in Iran since September 2022.
On 11 April 2023, the lawyer of Golrokh Iraee was informed that Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced the woman human rights defender to six years in prison on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security” and a one year prison sentence on the charge of “propaganda against state”. She has also been subjected to a two year travel ban, a two year ban on living in Tehran, and a two year ban on membership of political and social groups. Electronic devices, found in her house at the time of her violent arrest, have also been confiscated. After the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code the human rights defender has received the most severe single sentence of six years related to the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security,” and will have to serve the maximum sentence of the most serious charge.
On 4 January 2023, woman human rights defender Golrokh Iraee was charged with "gathering and colluding against national security" and “propaganda against the state” by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. These charges are based on her participation in protests and her social media posts about protesters who were killed or arrested during the protests which began in September 2022. During the court session, the judge claimed that that the woman human rights defender had intention to attend the protests on 26 September 2022, the day of her arrest which can amount to the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security.” The judge also considered her social media activism during the protests as well as her denunciation of the government for the killing of minors during the protests as an example of “propaganda against state.”
On 29 November 2022, the woman human rights defender was transferred to Evin prison from Qarchak prison after being violently arrested on 26 September 2022 following a house raid. She was transferred to solitary confinement in Qarchak prison.
This is not the first time that the woman human rights defender has been targeted for her human rights work. Golrokh Iraee had been released from Amol prison on 9 May 2022 after having served three years in prison on the charges of “insulting the sacred”, "insulting the supreme leader" and "promoting propaganda against the state". The charges were in connection with her defence of prisoners’ rights.
The prosecution of Golrokh Iraee is part of a wide crackdown on human rights defenders in the context of the protests. Hundreds of human rights defenders have been arrested, charged and subjected to hefty prison sentences without the adherence to due process of fair trials.
Front Line Defenders is particularly concerned by the breach of international human rights law in Iran’s treatment of human rights defenders in detention. It believes that human rights defenders arrested in the context of the 2022 protests are being detained as a result of their legitimate and peaceful human rights work in Iran.
