Woman Human Rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi sentenced to five years in prison
On 26 November 2024, woman human rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “forming a group with the intention of acting against national security” by Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of Appeals for her role in the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association. The woman human rights defender has been issued a ten day notice to begin serving her prison sentence.
Serveh Pourmohammadi is a woman human rights defender and board member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association 2021-2023. The woman human rights defender has been advocating for the socio-cultural rights of the Kurdish community by teaching Kurdish, and organizing cultural events. The Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association raises awareness of the legal and cultural rights that ethnic groups are entitled to exercise in Iran, and has been active in promoting cultural education through the organisation and holding of Kurdish language classes in various cities in the region.
On 26 November 2024, woman human rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “forming a group with the intention of acting against national security” by Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of Appeals for her role in the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association. The woman human rights defender has been issued a ten day notice to begin serving her prison sentence.
Serveh Pourmohammadi is a woman human rights defender and board member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association 2021-2023. The woman human rights defender has been advocating for the socio-cultural rights of the Kurdish community by teaching Kurdish, and organizing cultural events. The Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association raises awareness of the legal and cultural rights that ethnic groups are entitled to exercise in Iran, and has been active in promoting cultural education through the organisation and holding of Kurdish language classes in various cities in the region.
On 26 November 2024, the woman human rights defender was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “forming a group with the intention of acting against national security” by Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of Appeals. The appeal process, which was ongoing for one year at Branch 4 of the Court of Appeals, was concluded by Branch 1 of the court due to the absence of court counsellor at Branch 4 on the date in question.
On 26 October 2023, Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court had sentenced woman human rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi to ten years in prison on the charge of “forming groups and association with the intention of disturbing the national security”, based on her peaceful human rights activities to promote socio-cultural rights via the Nozhin association. The human rights defender appealed the sentence.
On 29 January 2023, woman human rights defender Serveh Mohammadi was arrested at the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court when she was following up on the situation of her sister, the detained woman human rights defender Soma Pourmohammadi, and Soma Pourmohammadi’s husband Edris Menbari.
The members and directors of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, including Serveh Pourmohammadi, have chosen to communicate only in Kurdish in protest against denial of the their rights to teach in their mother tongue. Four other members of the association have been targeted with prosecution and subjected to humiliation during the different stages of their arbitrary trial.
Previously, in February 2021, woman human rights defender and then director and founding member of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, Zahra Mohammadi, was sentenced by Branch 4 of the Court of Appeals to five years in prison on the charge of “forming a group with the intention of acting against national security”, the same charge issued to Serveh Pourmohammadi. Furthermore, Soma Pourmohammadi and Seivan Ebrahimi, the two other members and former directors of Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, were acquitted of the same charge by Branch 4 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of Appeals, and the ten year sentences handed down to each of them by Branch 1 of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court were overturned. Zahra Mohammadi has now served her sentence and the case has been concluded.
Under article 84 of the Iranian Civil Code of Procedures, “if all the legal procedures are applied to a case and finally a definitive and final decision is issued, it is not possible for that case and its parties to file a new lawsuit based on the same charge.” The lawyers of the woman human rights defender have applied for retrial at the Supreme Court on the basis that to charge Serveh Pourmohammadi for forming the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association when the cases of Zahra Mohammadi, Soma Pourmohammadi and Seivan Ebrahimi have been concluded, would be in violation of article 84 of the Iranian Civil Code of Procedures.
Front Line Defenders condemns the arbitrary sentencing of woman human rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi, which appears to be in violation of domestic law. Further, the organisation believes this sentence is in retaliation of her peaceful and legitimate work defending and promoting human rights in Iran, and raising awareness about the legal and cultural rights of ethnic minorities in Iran according to article 15 of the Iranian Constitution.
Front Line Defenders urges Iranian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally overturn the convictions against woman human rights defender Serveh Pourmohammadi;
- Stop the ongoing judicial harassment of the members and directors of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, including Edris Menbari and Soma Pourmohammadi;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Iran can carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisals and free from all restrictions, including judicial harassment.
