Two Female Activists Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Alleged Collaboration in Tehran

Hengaw: Saturday, February 17, 2024

In Tehran, activists Forough Taqipour and Marzieh Farsi have spent the past 180 days in Evin Prison after being convicted by the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran for alleged collaboration with the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, each receiving a 15-year sentence.

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Forough Taqipour, 29, and Marzieh Farsi, 58, were tried in absentia by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Chief Judge Iman Afshari. They were sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment each for charges related to their alleged association with the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran.

These political prisoners, absent from the recent court session due to their refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the judiciary system, faced accusations of "insurrection" at the Evin Courthouse in December 2023. The sentence was officially communicated to them through their defense attorneys on Wednesday, February 7th.

It is important to note that Marzieh Farsi is battling cancer, and her health condition has been reported as highly concerning. Forough Taqipour and Marzieh Farsi were detained in Tehran in August 2023 by the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and subsequently transferred to Evin Prison.

Previously, in March 2020, Forough Taqipour and Marzieh Farsi, a mother of two, were arrested. They were initially sentenced to five years in prison, and both were released from Evin Prison in March 2023 while serving their terms.

Forough Taqipour is the daughter of Rahim Taqipour, a detainee from the 1980s, while Marzieh Farsi is affiliated with the families of the victims of that period. She had a brother named Hassan Farsi, who was executed in the summer of 1988.