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Iranian judiciary slapped human rights activist
Navid Khanjani with 12 years in
prison and a monetary fine for his journalistic activities, interviews with the
foreign media and membership in Human Rights Reporters committee. Khanjani who
is banned from pursuing higher education was also charged for "founding an
organization for people banned from pursuing higher education."
He was also banned from travelling abroad in an earlier sentence.
Navid Khanjani was arrested last March in Esfahan and after over two months in
Evin Prison was released on a $100,000 bail.
Khanjani has been attacked in the media since his arrest as "a member of the
cyber army" and "one of the perpetrators of the soft war" against the Islamic
Republic.
Reportedly he was under severe pressure during his interrogations to submit to
recorded interviews by the intelligence ministry confessing to
self-incriminating charges.
A s a member of the Baha'i religious minority in Iran, he was banned from
pursing higher education against which he was involved in many activities for
defence of the right to education.
Khanjani's 12-year sentence is the heaviest prison term handed to a human rights
activist by the Islamic Republic so far.
Five years in prison for Iranian human rights activist
Kaveh Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and human rights activist was sentenced to
five years in prison by Kermanshah Revolutionary Court.
Ghassemi was charged with "activity against national security" through
membership in Kurdistan Human Rights Organization and "propaganda against the
regime" by giving interviews to the media and publishing news and reports about
families of political prisoners and victims, International Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran reports.
The Campaign reports that the Kurdish activist was given the highest possible
penalty meted out to such cases by the Islamic penal code.
In addition to confiscating Ghassemi's passport and some of his other personal
documents, the court has seized his laptop, computers, cell phone, camera,
printer and a number of other items that were confiscated at the time of the
arrest.
Ghassemi's lawyer, Mostafa Ahmadian described his client's sentence
"unprecedented" and "far too heavy" saying: "None of my client's activities,
which were indeed done in good faith and with humanitarian intentions,
constitute activity against national security or propaganda against the regime."
He added that he is certain to appeal the sentence.
Kaveh Ghassemi was arrested last February in Kermanshah and after 110 days in
prison 80 of which were in solitary confinement, was released on a $100,000 bail
in May.
Ghassemii is an executive member of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization. He is
also a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign to End Discriminatory Laws
as well as Iran's largest student organization, Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat.