An Iranian mother who was demanding justice for her son, killed by security officials, has been sent to prison for 13 years
Mahsa Yazdani was found guilty on various charges which include blasphemy, incitement, insulting the supreme leader, and spreading anti-regime propaganda, human rights groups and family members said.
In the first five years of her prison sentence, Yazdani will not be granted parole, they said.
Jailed for ‘insluting supreme leader’
According to Yazdani’s attorney Meysam Mousavi, she was given a five-year term for “blasphemy”, an additional five years of “incitement against national security”, two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran” and one more year for “spreading propaganda against the regime,” adding to a total of 13 years, the Independent outlet reported.
Yazdani was running an online campaign seeking justice for her 20-year-old son Mohammad Javad Zahedi, who was killed at an anti-regime protest in September 2022.
Zahedi was allegedly shot and wounded by security forces while protesting the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who had died in police custody after being detained for violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law.
Zahedi died of his injuries after emergency services failed to treat him, Iran International reported.
A medical examiner’s report confirmed he was killed by numerous shotgun pellets.
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Was seeking justice for son killed in protest
After her son was killed, Yazdani publicly condemned the regime and called for justice for her son and others killed in the demonstrations. She was later arrested in August from her home.
Hours after Yazdani’s conviction became public, her daughter, Mitra Zahedi, shared a post on Instagram that read: “What will happen to my three-year-old brother? Who is responsible for all this cruelty?”
The Center for Human Rights in Iran also condemned the prison sentence saying, “We strongly denounce the disgraceful sentencing of Mahsa Yazdani, a grieving mother seeking justice for her son.”
“Hundreds of mothers in Iran have been blocked from pursuing justice for their murdered loved ones while themselves being persecuted for simply raising their voices,” it added.
The regime has been going hard on the protesters who were detained in the aftermath of the Amini agitation.
On October 17, Amini’s family lawyer Saleh Nikbakht was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda activities against the system”.
The trial began in August during which Nikbakht was accused of “having spoken to foreign and local media about the Mahsa Amini case”.
(With inputs from agencies)
