Eighteen Iranian activists have been sentenced to 91 days in jail and 74 lashes for participating in a peaceful protest in November that the court saw as “disturbing the public peace”.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that the flogging sentences for 16 of the activists have been suspended for two years.
Reza Makian, Hashem Zinali, Simin Eyvazzadeh, Ehsan Kheybar, Abdolazim Oroji, Mohsen Haseli, Mohsen Shoja, Khadijeh Mirghafari, Azam Najafi, Parvin Soleymani, Shemin Yamani, Sara Sai, Arshia Rahmati, Masoud Hamidi, Ali Babayi, Esmail Hoseyni, Fariseh Toosi and Zahra Modareszadeh were sentenced by the penal court in Tehran by Judge Farshid Dehghani.
When arrested in November, the men were transferred to Evin Prison and the women to Gharachak. They were later released on bail or sureties of 50 million toumans.
Social, political and labour activists continue to face serious threat, punishment and repression in Iran, for which the Islamic Republic authorities have often been criticized by human rights groups.
