Tehran: A court in Iran on Tuesday sentenced Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, to five years in prison, her lawyer has revealed.
“Following the arrest of Faezeh Hashemi, in her last case, she was sentenced to five years in prison at the initial stage and the sentence is not final,” her lawyer Neda Shams said on Twitter.
The charges against her are “not correct considering that the present verdict is not final”, Shams added.
Faezah Hashemi, a human rights activist, was arrested in September and charged with endangering public order and security.
State media reported at the time that she had been arrested for “inciting riots” in Tehran during protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini fell into a coma and died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police for wearing the hijab in an ‘improper manner’ meaning she had not fully covered her hair.
Amini fell into a coma shortly after collapsing at a detention centre before she was pronounced dead on Friday, September 16.
Who is Faezah Hashemi?
59-year-old Hashemi, a former lawmaker and women’s rights activist who has faced previous confrontations with law enforcement authorities in the Islamic Republic, is an outspoken critic of the system of government there.
As per media reports, in July 2022, she was charged with propaganda activities against the country and blasphemy in social media comments.
In September 2012, Faezeh spent 6 months in a Tehran prison on charges of propaganda activities after describing, in an interview, Iranian judges as thugs and villains who target people.
Rafsanjani (a reformist) served as the country’s president between 1989 and 1997, and also held many other important positions before his death in 2017.
