Saleh Nikbakht Interrogated at Khomeini Airport and the Sakharov Prize confiscated by Iranian security forces
Saleh Nikbakht, a well-known Kurdish lawyer and lawyer of Jina Amini's family, was interrogated
Hengaw: Saturday, December 23, 2023
Saleh Nikbakht, a well-known Kurdish lawyer and lawyer of Jina Amini's family, was interrogated by Iranian security forces after arriving from France at Tehran’s Khomeini Airport, and the Sakharov Prize plaque that he received from the European Parliament was also taken by force.
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on the evening of Friday, December 22, 2023, the security forces stationed at Tehran's Khomeini Airport, while confiscating the Sakharov Prize from Saleh Nikbakht, interrogated him and confiscated his passport and mobile phone.
Due to the ban on Jina Amini’s family leaving the country, On December 12, 2023, Saleh Nikbakht attended the European Parliament on behalf of this family and received the annual Sakharov Prize of the European Union, which belongs to Jina Amini and the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement.
The ceremony was held at the headquarters of the European Parliament located in Strasbourg, France, and the award was given to Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer of the Amini family, as well as Afsun Najafi, the sister of Hadith Najafi, and Mersedeh Shahinkar, one of the victims of the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement.
Although the European Parliament had invited the family of Jina Amini to participate in this ceremony, on Friday, December 8, the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran obstructed the trip of Amjad Amini, Mozhgan Iftekhari and Ashkan Amini to France at Tehran's "Khomeini" airport.
The former Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov Prize is the EU's highest honor for human rights activism as well as for defenders of fundamental freedoms, especially freedom of thought. This award was first awarded in 1988 to Harry, Nelson Mandela, and Annanvili Marchino, as well as last year to "Courageous People of Ukraine".
In October of this year, Saleh Nikbakht was sentenced to one year in prison by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Amozad, on the charge of "propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic of Iran" and the additional punishment of being banned from working in cyberspace for two years.
Saleh Nikbakht, 72 years old and from Saqqez, was charged with "propaganda against the regime" by the 2nd investigation branch of the Evin Prosecutor's Office on Saturday, March 11, 2023. He was then temporarily released by posting bail.
Saleh Nikbakht, a Kurdish lawyer, has represented the case of Jina Amini and represented the cases of many political prisoners sentenced to death.
It should be noted that Mr. Nikbakht was imprisoned for a total of 8 years during the Pahlavis and later the Islamic Republic of Iran due to his political activities.
