Karim Khojasteh resentenced to 12 years and six months after death sentence overturned

Hengaw – Friday, July 24, 2026

A Revolutionary Court in Rasht has resentenced political prisoner Karim Khojasteh to 12 years and six months in prison after Iran's Supreme Court overturned the death sentence previously imposed on the 62-year-old Gilak political prisoner from Khomam on the charge of baghi (armed rebellion).

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court issued the new sentence following a retrial. The case is currently before the appeals court, and Khojasteh remains imprisoned at Lakan Prison in Rasht.

Khojasteh was first arrested on July 20, 2024, for installing protest banners and charged with "propaganda against the state." After spending four and a half months in detention, he was released on bail of 500 million tomans on December 29, 2024.

Intelligence Ministry forces arrested him again at his workplace on March 13, 2025, without presenting a warrant, and transferred him to Lakan Prison in Rasht.

The judiciary initially charged Khojasteh with "acting against national security" before escalating the case to the capital charge of baghi (armed rebellion). Although authorities formally notified him of the death sentence on December 6, 2025, the case remained based solely on the same banner-installation activities that led to his initial arrest, and no new evidence or additional acts were presented against him.

After the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence, Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court resentenced Khojasteh to 12 years and six months in prison. His case is currently pending review before the appeals court.