The U.S. State Department strongly condemns the Iranian government’s heavy sentences against 11 women’s rights activists in Gilan Province. A spokesman for the department condemned the sentences as “unjust” and described them as “an attempt to intimidate and silence their voices”.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller criticized the legal proceedings against Iranian human rights activists as “fabricated” at a press conference on Thursday in response to inquiries from VOA’s Persian service. He asserted that “the Iranian regime’s goal is to intimidate and silence the voices of these brave women through such sentences.”
On Wednesday, the Third Branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Court in the city of Rasht sentenced 11 women’s rights activists arrested in Gilan in August 2023 to a total of 60 years in prison.
Zohreh Dadras was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison, while eight other women – Forough Samieenia, Sara Jahani, Yasamin Hashdari, Shiva Shahsia, Negin Rezaei, Matin Yazdani, Azadeh Chavoshian and Zahra Dadras – were each sentenced to more than six years Sentence in prison. Two other women – Jelveh Javaheri and Hooman Taheri – were each sentenced to one year in prison.
A U.S. State Department spokesman said the rulings lacked “any credibility and legitimacy,” citing the conduct of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary and courts.
Miller also highlighted widespread reports of torture, forced confessions and restrictions on lawyers, further undermining the credibility of verdicts handed down by Iranian courts.
The activists were convicted in February 2024 on charges including “gathering a crowd to collude and form a group with the intention of undermining national security” and “joining a group.”
Miller reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting the people of Iran and said the United States will continue to take practical actions — seen and unseen — to support the Iranian people.
He added that the United States will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners to condemn the sham trial and hold Iran accountable for its human rights violations.
Iranian human rights activist Gohar Eshghi responded to the sentencing of the 11 women on Instagram, saying, “This regressive government is the number one enemy of women’s rights.”
“This government is worried about the influence of women. What wrong did my daughters in Gilan do to be sentenced to more than sixty years in prison? Why are thieves and embezzlers not imprisoned? Why do all corrupt people end up as ministers and lawyer?”
Gohar Eshghi, whose son Sattar Beheshti died in 2012 while being detained by the “cyber police” for engaging in “blogging” activities, stressed in her message, “My children, please remember that this anti-women government offers nothing but executions, whippings and torture.” “
She added, “The leaders of the Islamic Republic are wrong. In the end, they dissolve like snow, and these brave women are the ones who win in the end.”
According to statistics from the human rights organization Hengaw, in 2023, at least 22 women were executed, 325 female activists were detained, and 147 female activists were sentenced to imprisonment, whipping, and execution in Iran.
The report also revealed that a total of 139 female activists were sentenced to more than 553 years in prison, and 10 of them received a total of 557 lashes.
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