Afshin Heiratyan, a children’s rights activist and Baha’i citizen currently held in Evin Prison, has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to a total of 31 years in prison, along with a cash fine. Under Iranian sentencing regulations, if the verdict is upheld on appeal, the maximum applicable sentence of 12 years will be enforceable.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced Heiratyan to 12 years in prison on charges of “forming an illegal group,” 11 years for “propaganda activity disruptive to sacred Islamic law,” and six years for “assembly and collusion,” alongside a fine of 330 million tomans.
In a related case concerning the charge of “acquisition of illicit wealth” involving the receipt of $1,000, the children’s rights activist was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine equal to twice the amount received, or $2,000.
Under Iran’s rules governing multiple convictions, should the sentence be affirmed by the court of appeals, only the primary charge carrying the longest sentence—12 years’ imprisonment—will be served.
Heiratyan’s trial took place on July 18 at Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. At the time of the hearing, he had spent more than 250 days in temporary detention and judicial limbo.
