HRANA News Agency – The 10-year prison sentence of Mehdi Meskinnavaz (Meskin-Navaz), a political prisoner held in Bandar Anzali Prison, has been reduced to five years and six months following the acceptance of his retrial request and a new review by Branch 21 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.
On Sunday, April 13, 2025, his lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, announced that with the Supreme Court accepting Meskinnavaz’s request for retrial and the case being referred to Branch 21 of the Appeals Court, his client’s sentence was reduced from 10 years to five years and six months.
In January 2025, the Supreme Court approved his retrial request, and the case was sent to an equivalent branch for reconsideration.
Meskinnavaz was arrested on September 7, 2024, to begin serving his sentence and was transferred to Bandar Anzali Prison.
In July 2023, in connection with a new case opened against him while in prison, he was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to 10 years in prison for “forming a group to disrupt national security,” and to 1 year for “propaganda against the regime.” He was also sentenced to two years of complementary punishment, including a ban on residing in Tehran Province and neighboring provinces, as well as a travel ban.
Mehdi Meskinnavaz, 46, is a resident of Bandar Anzali. He has a history of arrest and judicial sentencing due to his activism.