The Tehran Provincial Appeals Court has upheld the sentences of Loqman Aminpour, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, Majid Roshannejad, and Reza Salmanzadeh, four defendants in the so-called Evin Prison fire case. Previously, Branch 1148 of the Tehran Criminal Court sentenced the group to a total of 33 years in prison and 518 lashes.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the sentences were confirmed by the Appeals Court without a proper review of the case.
The original verdicts were issued on June 19, 2024, a day after the trial presided over by Judge Jabbar Javadi Rami. Aminpour, Dehbanzadeh, and Roshannejad were each sentenced to six years in prison and 74 lashes for “destruction of property,” an additional 16 months and 74 lashes for “disrupting prison order,” and another 16 months for “disobedience and resisting prison officials.” Salmanzadeh received five years in prison and 74 lashes for “destruction of property,” one year for “disrupting prison order,” and one year for “disobedience and resisting prison officials.”
A source close to one of the families told HRANA: “Despite objections filed by the defendants, neither they nor their lawyers were notified about the appeals process. The defense submissions prepared by their lawyers were ignored, and the sentences were upheld without any review in the Appeals Court.”
In addition to these four individuals, 36 other defendants in the Evin Prison fire case have also received prison sentences. HRANA is investigating the status of their appeals.
The prisoners are currently serving sentences from unrelated cases in the Greater Tehran and Ghezel Hesar prisons.
Following the fire on the night of Saturday, October 15, 2022, at Evin Prison, a case was opened against these prisoners based on a complaint from the Prisons Organization.
On the night of October 15, 2022, after tensions rose in Evin Prison, fire was seen above the prison, and sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard. Despite officials claiming to have controlled the fire and clashes, gunfire continued for several hours. As a result, several prisoners were injured and killed, and some were transferred out of the prison.