Civil activist Farshad Dastmardi sentenced to over six years in prison
Hengaw – Thursday, June 26, 2025
Farshad Dastmardi, a civil activist and former political prisoner from Dehdasht, located in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, has been sentenced to six years, three months, and one day of imprisonment by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In accordance with the principle of enforcing the harshest sentence, five years of this ruling will be implemented.
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Thursday, June 21, 2025, the 30-year-old activist was sentenced by Branch 102 of the Second Criminal Court of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad on charges of “propaganda against the state,” “gathering and collusion against national security as a ringleader,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”
The verdict cites Dastmardi’s alleged actions, including attempting to organize public gatherings on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Dehdasht Square, coordinating civil protests, and writing handwritten notes critical of the government’s performance.
The evidence presented against him relies primarily on reports from intelligence agencies, video footage, statements from another defendant, and confessions that, according to informed sources, were obtained under duress and in unlawful conditions.
Notably, in February 2024, Dastmardi had already been sentenced by Branch 101 of the same court, presided over by Judge Taheri, to three years in prison for “propaganda against the government with the intent to disrupt public security,” and an additional seven months and sixteen days for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Dastmardi, a well-known activist in Dehdasht and a former detainee of the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, has been repeatedly targeted by security forces. He was first arrested in October 2022 during the early stages of the uprising and was released after several months on heavy bail.
In 2023, he was arrested at least twice more by IRGC Intelligence in Dehdasht—first on the anniversary of the state killing of Pedram Azarnosh, and again following the helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, amid growing calls to boycott the presidential elections.
Most recently, on Saturday, April 19, 2025, Dastmardi was arrested once again in the Zeydun district of Behbahan.
