Iran jails prominent activist held during Mahsa Amini protests

 An Iranian appeals court has sentenced notable activist and journalist Golrokh Iraee to five years in prison, who was detained at the start of a protest movement.

According to rights groups, the Iranian journalist and activist did not attend the appeals court hearing regarding her sentencing for unauthorized meetings and endangering national security because she did not recognize the legitimacy of the court.

The Iranian journalist was arrested in a police raid on her home in September 2022 at the beginning of the protest movement sparked by the death of a young Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating the dress regulations for women.

According to the rights groups, Golrokh Iraee, a life-long campaigner for human rights and women's rights, has been in Evin prison for 280 days. The Tehran court sentenced Golrokh Iraee to 5 years of imprisonment. 

Earlier in April, the court sentenced her to seven years in prison. Recently, the court changed the term to 5 years.

Iraee is well-known for her campaigning on issues like stoning punishments and jail conditions. She is also the wife of activist Arash Sadeghi, an Iranian activist, and a political prisoner. He was also arrested during the protest movement. However, later on, the authorities released him from the jail. 

Arash Sadegh is best known for his hunger strike as an act of protest against the detention of his wife, Golrokh Iraee, without any judiciary proof. 

Some activists arrested during the protest movement have been released in recent months, as the protests have dwindled in intensity. However, Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Sepideh Gholian, an Iranian Political activist, and Niloufar Bayani and Sepideh Kashani, famous environmental conservationists, are still behind bars.