Iranian judiciary slapped human rights activist, Navid Khanjani with 12 years in prison and a monetary fine for his journalistic activities, interviews with the foreign media and membership in Human Rights Reporters committee.
Khanjani who is banned from pursuing higher education was also charged for “founding an organization for people banned from pursuing higher education.”
He was also banned from travelling abroad in an earlier sentence.
Navid Khanjani was arrested last March in Esfahan and after over two months in Evin Prison was released on a $100,000 bail.
Khanjani has been attacked in the media since his arrest as “a member of the cyber army” and “one of the perpetrators of the soft war” against the Islamic Republic.
Reportedly he was under severe pressure during his interrogations to submit to recorded interviews by the intelligence ministry confessing to self-incriminating charges.
A s a member of the Baha’i religious minority in Iran, he was banned from pursing higher education against which he was involved in many activities for defence of the right to education.
Khanjani’s 12-year sentence is the heaviest prison term handed to a human rights activist by the Islamic Republic so far.
