Female political detainee sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for espionage

Hengaw, Saturday, April 27, 2024

Farahnaz Nik-Khou, a political detainee held in the women’s section of Evin Prison, has been handed a 10-year prison term by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to a report obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Farahnaz Nik-Khou, aged 50, was recently sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, under the jurisdiction of Judge Abolghasem Salavati. She was convicted on charges of “acting against national security through espionage.”

It is noteworthy that Nik-Khou, a former employee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Telecommunications Department, was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison (known as the detention facility of the intelligence department) several weeks ago. During her two-week detention, she underwent intense interrogation.

Nik-Khou was apprehended by the personnel of the IRGC's intelligence department at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport while attempting to leave Iran on December 3, 2022. Initially held in Ward 2A of Evin Prison, she was eventually relocated to the women’s section of the facility on April 30 of the following year.