New sentence for Abbas Vahidian Shahroudi

Abbas Vahidiyan Shahroudi, a writer and one of the signatories of the “Statement of 14,” has received new sentences from the Revolutionary Court. In a session referred to as an “online court,” he was sentenced to two years in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” one year in prison for “confessing to overthrowing the government,” and two years of exile in Zabol.

This new verdict comes while Vahidiyan Shahroudi is already serving a 21-year prison term in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, a facility notorious for its harsh and inhumane conditions. Over the past four years, he has not been granted even a single day of medical leave and remains imprisoned despite suffering from multiple health problems.

The new charges were brought against him after he published a letter from inside the prison, calling on the people and political forces to unite for Iran’s liberation. This latest ruling is widely viewed as an unlawful and retaliatory act, another example of the regime’s ongoing suppression of freedom of thought and expression in the Islamic Republic.