Tabriz: Civil activist sentenced to three months in prison and 30 lashes

Hengaw: Monday, February 17, 2025

Ebrahim Asmani, a Turkish civil activist from Tabriz, has been sentenced in absentia by the Islamic Republic of Iran judiciary to three months and one day of discretionary imprisonment, along with the inhumane punishment of 30 lashes.

According to a report received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on December 18, 2024, the Criminal Court Branch 118 of Tabriz sentenced the 60-year-old activist for the charge of "disrupting public order" through unconventional attire and creating commotion during the funeral of Zahra Sa'adati Vafa'i. His trial was held on December 14, 2024, in the same court.

Ebrahim Asmani was arrested by security forces on September 23, 2024, during the funeral of Zahra Vafa'i, a Turkish poet and literary figure, at Vadi-e Rahmat Cemetery in Tabriz. He was released a few days later on a bail of 100 million tomans.

It is worth noting that in recent years, Ebrahim Asmani has faced repeated summons, arrests, and convictions by the Iranian judiciary due to his civil activism.