Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Iran Sentences Protesters to Long Prison Terms, Thousands of Lashes

Michael Lipin

   WASHINGTON - Iran has imposed harsh sentences on 36 residents of a
   southwestern city who joined the nation's last major wave of
   anti-government protests in November 2019, according to a knowledgeable
   source who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

   Speaking to VOA from Iran on Friday, the source said the 36 protesters
   fromBehbahanin Khuzestan province were handed their sentences by the
   city's criminal court October 22. The source said the defendants were
   sentenced to a cumulative total of 109 years in prison and 2,590
   lashes, whileeach individualwas fined more than 3 million tomans,
   equivalent to roughly $700.

   A copy of the verdict, provided by the source and verified by VOA
   Persian, showed the protesters were convicted of disturbing public
   order, disobeying security agents and vandalizing public property.

   The source said theBehbahancourt's presiding judge,Rasoul
   Asadpour,barred defendants and their lawyers from the courtroom for the
   October 12 trial session, allowing them to submit only a written
   defense. Prosecutors presented no evidence for many of the charges, the
   source asserted.

   VOA could not independently confirm the circumstances of the trial
   because it is barred from reporting inside Iran.

   There has been no comment from Iranian officials about the cases of the
   36 protesters in state media this month.

   VOA's source said two of the defendants, [1]AhmadHatampour and
   [2]MaryamPayab, previously had been sentenced to a total of 12 months
   in prison in a separate trial overseen by a Revolutionary Court in the
   southwestern city ofMahsharseveral months ago. The source said
   theMahsharcourt had convictedHatampourandPayabof spreading
   anti-government propaganda,and its ruling was upheld on appeal.

   "The 36Behbahanresidents only were protesting against inflation and
   government mismanagement," the source said. The defendants, who
   remained free on bail, were planning to visit theBehbahanprosecutor's
   office in the following days to appeal their sentences, the source
   added.

   Iran's government sparked the November 2019 demonstrations in dozens of
   cities nationwide by ordering a 50% increase in the subsidized price of
   gasoline, further straining the finances of Iranians facing high
   unemployment and inflation in a shrinking economy under heavy U.S.
   sanctions. Iranian security forces killed hundreds of protesters and
   arrested thousands more in a violent crackdown on the mostly peaceful
   demonstrations, in which some people also damaged public buildings and
   businesses.

   The Trump administration said the protests represented the worst
   political crisis for Iran's Islamist rulers since they seized power
   inthe1979 Islamic Revolution.

   This article originated in [3]VOA's Persian Service. Click [4]here for
   the original Persian version of the story.

References

   1. https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/5549/
   2. https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/5468/
   3. https://ir.voanews.com/
   4. https://ir.voanews.com/persiannewsiran/iran-protes-behbahan-flogging-sentenced

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