The uncle of Mahsa Amini, who was a young Iranian-Kurdish woman and had died in custody igniting months-long protests, has been sentenced to more than five years of imprisonment for criticising the government in 2022, said the rights groups.
30-year-old Safa Aeli was sentenced to five years and four months of imprisonment by the revolutionary court in the family’s home town of Saqez which is located in north-western Iran, said the Norway-based Hengaw group and US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Aeli had to also face sanctions, which included a highly unusual demand to produce a written document which outlines the biography of a security force member who had lost his life in the protest and later submit his “own personal interpretation” of the completed document to the judicial authorities, said Hengaw.
Amini’s uncle was also given the order to share a voice message regarding the work on his social media accounts. In case, he failed to do that he was to be banned from expressing any views regarding the protests.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in hospital in September 2022 after she was arrested for allegedly flouting Islamic code of dressing for women in the Islamic Republic.
The family of Amini and the activists have claimed that she was killed after she suffered a blow on her head while she was in custody. Iranian officials have denied the claims.
HRANA, quoting family lawyer Saleh Nikbakht, said that part of the prison sentence given to Aeli was suspended and he is now needs to remain in prison for three years and six months.
The charges against Aeli include dissemination of anti-government propaganda, insulting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and participating in the protests which violated internal security.
One month after getting arrested in September 2023, Aeli was released on bail, just before the one-year death anniversary of Mahsa Amini.
The protests after the death of Amini shook Islamic authorities in Iran. However, the protests have now subsided after there was a crackdown on rights groups, in which hundreds were killed and thousands were arrested.
In the cases related to the protests, the government has till now executed nine men, as per the rights groups.
Source » wionews