A Kurdish-Iranian woman was sentenced to prison and lashes for her participation in last year’s nationwide protests in Iran. Fatemeh Davand, who lives in Bukan, in northwestern Iran was sentenced to five years and five months of prison and 30 lashes.
Davand was arrested in the November 2019 nationwide protests when thousands took to the streets to protest the tripling of gas prices. She was later released on bail. The Kurd woman was sentenced in two separate cases in the Bukan Criminal Court and the Mahabad Revolutionary Court.
A person close to the civil activist told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that Davand was charged with “disturbing public order by participation in riots” and “removing her hijab” in the 103rd Branch of the Bukan Criminal Court on February. The court was presided over by Judge Mehdi Taghizadeh. The charge related to her removing her hijab was dropped but she was sentenced to a hefty prison term and lashes for her participation in protests.
She was also charged with “assembly and collusion against national security” in a separate case.
“The second trial was held on May 12 in the 1st Branch of the Mahabad Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Javad Gholami, with a court-assigned lawyer. On June 21, the verdict was announced as five years of prison for “assembly and collusion against the national security,” the source added.
The source said that Ms. Davand did not object to the sentence and a fourth of the sentence should be deducted according to the law, however, the final verdict has not yet been announced.
Fatemeh Davand was arrested on November 16, 2019, for participating in the nationwide protests due to the sudden rise in gasoline prices. She was detained in one of her relatives’ homes in Saqqez, in northwestern Iran. Davand was kept in the Urmia Intelligence Detention Center for 13 days where she was forced to confess under duress and psychological torture.
Her forced confessions were later broadcasted on state-run TV a few days after her arrest. After interrogations, she was transferred to Urmia Central Prison and was released on a bail order of 1 billion tomans (close to $43,000) on March 25.
The Iranian regime has sentenced many protesters to heavy prison terms, lashes, and even death to prevent further protests.
Source » irannewswire