They were arrested in November after the publication of a video of them dancing in Azadi (means freedom) square. She was unveiled. They had no right to a lawyer. They are stuck in Tehran.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Amir Mohammad Ahmadi and Astiaj Haguigui, a couple of Iranian bloggers aged 22 and 21, respectively, to ten and a half years in prison, accused of “fomenting corruption, gathering [ilegal] and collusion with the intent to disturb national security and spread propaganda.” This is a video, published in October on social networks and in support of the protests in Iran, in which the couple appears dancing in Azadi square (which means freedom, in Urdu).
She, Astiaj, appears in the recording without the Islamic veil, an action that has configured, from the beginning, one of the symbols of the revolt. Another rule imposed on women is the prohibition to dance in public, especially in the company of a man, even if he is her boyfriend, as in this case. According to the court order, Amir and Astiaj are also prohibited from engaging in online activities and from leaving Iran for up to two years after serving their 10-and-a-half-year sentence.
POUR AVOIR DANSÉ ensemble sur la place Azadi (Liberté) de Téhéran, Astiaj Haghighi et Amir-Mohammad Ahmadi, couple de blogueurs, viennent d’être condenmés chacun à 10 ans et demi de prison, apprend-on des medias @VOAfarsi et @RadioFarda_.
Credit: @tavaana pic.twitter.com/SI9Iwv5thK— Armin Arefi (@arminarefi) January 29, 2023
Amir Mohammad Ahmadi and Astiaj Haguigui they were also deprived of the right to a lawyer, and their request for bail was also rejected.
Arrested on November 1 by plainclothes policemen, they were beaten and detained in wing 209 of Tehran’s Even prison, a prison known for housing political prisoners and under the supervision of the Ministry of Secret Services. According to testimonies of former prisoners, in this prison there are torture chambers.
Mahsa Amini’s death sparked a wave of protests for women’s rights. “It could be the harbinger of a new era in Iran”
Protests in Iran began in mid-September following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and killed by the self-proclaimed morality police for allegedly wearing the hijab incorrectly. Since then, the population has taken to the streets protesting against the repression of the Iranian regime – several women removed their headscarves and cut their hair in public demonstrations.
In the last four months, details Iran Wire, more than 530 people have died and more than 18,000 protesters have been arrested. Twenty people were sentenced to death and four young men were executed.
Source: Observadora
