HRANA News Agency – The prison sentence of Raheleh Rahemipour, a 72-year-old civil activist currently imprisoned in Evin Prison, has been reduced to four years and two months following the acceptance of her retrial request. The revised verdict was issued by Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, lowering her initial sentence of five years and ten months.
According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, the updated ruling was recently issued by Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals and formally communicated to her defense attorney yesterday. Under the new sentence, Rahemipour has been convicted of:
“Assembly and collusion against national security” – three years, six months, and ten days in prison
“Propaganda against the regime” – seven months and twenty days in prison
Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which mandates the enforcement of the most severe sentence in cases involving multiple charges, Rahemipour will serve three years, six months, and ten days behind bars.
Legal Background and Arrest History
Earlier, attorney Payam Dorfeshan had announced that Branch 9 of the Supreme Court had accepted Rahemipour’s request for a retrial and referred the case to an equivalent court for reconsideration.
Rahemipour was arrested in late November 2023 after appearing at the Evin Prosecutor’s Office and was subsequently transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence.
Her original conviction was handed down by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, which sentenced her to five years in prison for “assembly and collusion” and ten months in prison for “propaganda against the regime.” This ruling was issued following a trial held on June 16, 2020.
Rahemipour was previously arrested on November 12, 2019, by security forces in Tehran. She was subsequently transferred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Detention Center, known as Ward 2A of Evin Prison, before being temporarily released.
Given her advanced age, Rahemipour suffers from multiple health conditions and has been consistently denied access to essential medical care.