Tehran Revolutionary Court sentences student activist Motahareh Goonei to 21 months in prison

Hengaw – Monday, August 25, 2025

Motahareh Goonei, a student activist and former political prisoner, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to 21 months in prison.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the dentistry student from Tehran was recently convicted by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. She was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state” and six months for “insulting Khamenei.” Her mobile phone was also confiscated on the grounds that it contained “criminal content.”

The activist stated in a post that the verdict was issued and delivered to her in less than one week.

She was arrested on Saturday, June 14, 2025, in connection with her reaction to Israeli airstrikes on Islamic Republic military sites. After more than a month in detention, she was released on bail.

The former political prisoner has previously been subjected to repeated arrests and judicial proceedings. On March 16, 2025, she was released from Evin Prison after completing a one-year sentence.

Earlier, on Monday, October 7, 2024, she was detained again after being summoned to Branch 9 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran. She was transferred to Evin Prison to serve a one-year sentence on charges of “activities against the state.”

On May 1, 2024, while serving as political secretary of the Islamic Association of Students at Tehran University, she was also arrested by IRGC Intelligence and taken to Evin Prison.

Previously, this activist and her then-husband, Mehdi Hadizadeh, both students at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were subjected to disciplinary measures by the Ministry of Health, which imposed a temporary suspension and ordered their transfer to Ardabil University of Medical Sciences.

Goonei was also detained in Tehran during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement.