The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran has sentenced Kurdish activist Somayyeh Kargar and four others to heavy prison sentences for “managing illegal groups” and “propaganda against the state”.
Lawyer Mostafa Nili announced on his Twitter account that Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced his clients Nahid Taghavi, Mehran Raouf, Somayyeh Kargar, Bahareh Soleymani, and Nazanin Mohammadnezhad to various prison terms in a joint court case.
According to Nili, the court sentenced Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf to 10 years in prison on charges of “managing illegal groups” and eight months in prison for “propaganda activities against the state”.
Nili tweeted that the court also sentenced Somayyeh Kargar and Bahareh Soleymani to six years in prison for “managing illegal groups” and eight months in prison for “propaganda activities against the state”.
He added that Nazanin Mohammadnezhad, another defendant in the same case, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on charges of “managing illegal groups” and eight months in prison for “propaganda activities against the state”.
Forces of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested Somayyeh Kargar, Nahid Taghavi, Mehran Raouf, and Bahareh Soleymani on 16 October 2020 at their houses in Tehran. They took them to the detention centre of this security institution in Evin Prison of Tehran.
Two months later, on 8 December 2020, they similarly arrested Nazanin Mohammadnezhad.
Nahid Taghavi and Mehran Raouf are still held in detention under harsh conditions. Nazanin Mohammadnezhad, Bahareh Soleymani, and Somayyeh Kargar were temporarily released on large sums of bail on 2 February, 24 February, and 28 April 2021, respectively.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) had previously pointed out in various reports to the difficult conditions Somayyeh Kargar was subjected to in Evin and Qarchak prisons.
Somayeh Kargar, a Kurdish social activist from Ilam and a graduate of philosophy from the University of Tabriz, was arrested by forces of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on 16 October 2020 at her home in Tehran. The security officers also searched her house and confiscated her personal belongings, including her computer and cell phone.
She was transferred to Qarchak Prison in early February 2021 after four months of interrogation in Ward 2A of Tehran’s Evin Prison.
The civil activist has suffered severe weight loss and stomach diseases due to the harsh detention conditions for the past six months. She also suffers from severe visual impairment due to a rare eye disease. However, her medical treatment, which was scheduled to continue in France, had been stopped due to her detention.
On 19 February, a source familiar with Kargar’s case had spoken to the KHRN about the accusations against her and had said: “The appointed lawyer has not been able to study the case and meet with Ms Kargar, and no information is available on the charges against her.”
