On Sunday 28th July, Leila Hosseinzadeh, an anthropology student at the University of Tehran, was arrested by intelligence agents.
Leila Hosseinzadeh had been appealing a two-and-a-half-year sentence that she was given after being arrested in 2018. She was the secretary of Tehran University students’ central council and was arrested for participating in the major protests that took place across the country in December 2017 and January 2018.
She was also told that she was formally banned from leaving the country for two years.
She was released on bail not long after her arrest.
After reviewing her case, the Appeals Court in Tehran upheld her sentence. She was taken on Sunday to Evin Prison where she is expected to serve her sentence.
Ms. Hosseinzadeh had previously been sentenced to a two year ban of leaving Iran as well as six years imprisonment. This sentence was announced in March last year. Her trial was held in October and a revision hearing took place in May this year.
On 24th June, the 36th Branch of the Tehran Appeals Court announced that the she would be imprisoned for 30 months for “association and collusion against national security”. Furthermore, the same court added another 12 months on the charge of “propaganda against the state.”
During the 2017 / 2018 uprising, large numbers of people took part in protests and anti-government demonstrations the whole way across the country. Many people were arrested during the protests with many being subsequently imprisoned.
Students in particular were targeted by the Iranian regime. Young people and students are a threat to the Iranian regime because they are standing up for their rights, are vocal and refuse to be silenced.
The Iranian regime is in a delicate position because of the international pressure it is under, especially the economic sanctions that have been put in place by the United States under the Trump administration.
The people of Iran know that there is no chance of the regime becoming more moderate and they welcome the international pressure. The more pressure the regime is put under, the closer it gets to collapse.
The Iranian Resistance is supporting the people of Iran and it has been instrumental in the organisation of the mass protests. There are Resistance Units across the country and it is clear that the people are desperate for the regime to collapse.
The Iranian regime used to claim that opposition in Iran is minimal and the Resistance has a very small following inside the country. However, the contrary has become increasingly clear and regime officials have had no choice to admit that the people present a major threat to its survival.
It is for this reason that the regime is continuing to order crackdowns on dissent. Human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, artists, ethnic and religious minorities, workers activist, environmentalists, and many more, have been arrested, jailed and subjected to torture. Many have been sentenced to death too.
This shows the regime’s desperation but it is also what is giving the people the strength to continue fighting for human rights, peace, democracy and equality.
Source » irannewsupdate