Mehrab Bakhti, a Kurdish civilian from Ilam who had previously been sentenced to a total of one year and seven months in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leadership” and “propaganda against the state”, has been arrested to serve his imprisonment sentence.
A reliable source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that “about 10 days ago, law enforcement officers arrested Mehrab Bakhti at home and transferred him to Ilam Prison to serve his sentence. He is currently being held in a 12-meter room in the quarantine ward with poor sanitary conditions. The number of prisoners in this cell is much more than its usual capacity. Moreover, Mr Bakhti’s family has not yet been able to deliver his personal belongings, including his clothes, to him for use in the prison.”
Mehrab Bakhti was arrested by security forces affiliated with the Intelligence Office in Ilam in 2018 for his activities and the publication of critical posts on the Telegram channel and his Instagram account. He was released on bail after about a month and a half.
The Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ilam sentenced this Kurdish civilian to 16 months in prison on May 17, 2018, for “insulting the Supreme Leadership” in addition to one year in prison for “propaganda against the state.” His imprisonment term was to one year and seven months in prison on appeal. 16 months of this imprisonment term is enforceable under the law of Aggregation of Crimes.
