Branch 101 of the Ilam Criminal Court in western Iran sentenced Kurdish artist Mohammad Abbaszadeh to six months and one day in prison, to pay 240 million Iranian rials – nearly 4,800 USD – in fines and supplementary penalties.
The artist was sentenced to write 50 pages of articles in his own handwriting on “the consequences of blasphemy in the afterlife”.
The verdict was notified to the civilian on 10 May.
He had previously been sentenced by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ilam to one year in prison, a fine of 50 million Iranian rials – nearly 1,000 USD – and 74 lashes for “disturbing public opinion” and “acting against national security” by associating with opposition groups.
Abbaszadeh was arrested by security forces at his family home in Ilam on 29 September 2022 after composing the song “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (meaning Woman, Life, Freedom in Kurdish) and was taken to a security detention centre in the city.
After a few days of interrogation, he was transferred to the Ilam Central Prison Temporary Detention Centre.
On 3 November 2022, he was released on bail of 7 billion Iranian rials – nearly 140,000 USD.
