Women rights activist, Zeinab Zaman sentenced to six months in prison and a fine

Hengaw: Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Zeinab Zaman, a women’s rights activist and resident of Tehran, has been sentenced to six months in prison, a monetary fine, and additional restrictions by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the verdict was recently issued by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. Zaman was convicted of “spreading false information” and sentenced to six months of imprisonment and a fine of 50 million tomans. The prison sentence has been suspended for five years and communicated to her lawyer, Abouzar Zaman.

As part of her supplementary punishment, Zaman has also been prohibited from associating or communicating with individuals involved in political or social activities for five years.

In a statement regarding the verdict, her lawyer wrote: “The initial charge was ‘propaganda against the state,’ which the judge dismissed during the trial, accepting that no such crime had been committed. However, the judge argued that her published materials constituted a criminal offense and amended the charge to ‘spreading false information.’”

The trial for these charges was held on December 8, 2024, in the same court.

Earlier this year, in August, Zeinab Zaman had also been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state.” As supplementary punishment, she was banned for five years from leaving the country, joining political or social groups, using a smartphone, and interacting with non-relatives. According to the ruling, one-twentieth of her prison sentence was to be served, while the remainder was suspended for five years.

It is worth noting that on November 4, 2024, Zaman was summoned to the General and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of District 33 in Tehran, located in Evin Prison, to face the aforementioned charges. She was subsequently released on bail.