2 Prisoners Receive New Imprisonment Sentences

HRANA News Agency – The one-year-imprisonment sentences of Farshid Fathi and Arash Moghadam, who were charged following the raid to ward number 350, known as Black Thursday, were confirmed by the appeal court.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Farshid Fathi, imprisoned Christian priest and Arash Moghadam Aslan Poor were sentenced to 1 years of imprisonment by judge Salavat. The sentences have been confirmed by branch number 36 of court of appeal. These prisoners were charged with producing alcoholic beverage in prison which were found after the raid of prison guards to ward 350.

In prime court, Farshid Fathi was sentenced to one year in prison, 74 lashes and 200`000 Tomans fine; Arash Moghadam also was sentenced to one year in prison, 74 lashes and 300`000 Tomans fine.

The allegation of these prisoners, who are currently kept in ward number 10 of Rajaei Shahr prison, was keeping and producing alcoholic beverages. This allegation has been rejected by both prisoners.

An informed source told HRANA’s report, “this case is completely a political profiling and fabrication, because if the allegation was supposed to be verified, the general court should have been responsible for it and not the revolutionary court, especially not branch number 15 that is famous for weird sentences”.

He also mentioned, “in a room which 30 political prisoners are kept, how is it possible to assign the ownership of the alcoholic beverages found during the guards investigation, even by the presumption of existence of any?”

Arash Moghadam Aslan Poor was previously charged with blasphemy, insult to supreme leader and propaganda against the regime and sentenced to 8 years in prison. One year and 8 months of it was pardoned in EID-e-Fitr.

A close source to Arash Moghadam told about the religious ideology of Arash Moghadam, “for unknown reason, in some news it is said that Arash is a Zoroastrian and it is not true. He has never been a Zoroastrian”.

Farshid Fathi, new converted to Christianity and a leader of home-church, was transferred from ward 350 of Evin to Rajaei Shahr prison, by the order of the revolutionary court on August 19, 2015.

When Farshid was transferred to Rajaei Shahr, a case was opened for claimed found alcoholic beverages by prison guard, for him.

He was arrested on December 26, 2010 in the Eve of New Year, following the mass arrests by security forces, and in a preset trial sentenced to 6 years in prison. Many more Christian citizens and members of home-churches were arrested in Tehran and other cities following this event.