The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders raised alarm over a three-year prison sentence for Iranian activist Hasti Amiri in Iran on Tuesday, calling for the sentence to be revoked.
Hasti Amiri, a human rights defender and prisoners’ rights activist, announced on August 18 that she had been sentenced in absentia by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to three years in prison, along with additional punishments including fines and a travel ban.
“Hearing disturbing news that Iranian human rights defender Hasti Amiri was sentenced to three years in prison,” UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor posted on X.
“Her peaceful advocacy for prisoners' rights and against the death penalty is protected under international law, and I demand that the sentence be revoked immediately.”
Lawlor referenced the account of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office of the International Organizations in Geneva in her message.
Hasti Amiri’s full sentence includes two years in prison for “spreading falsehoods with the intent to disturb public opinion” and one year for “propaganda against the government.”
“Hasti’s presence in two gatherings in front of Evin Prison opposing the death penalty and Amiri’s writings, where she argues any death sentence in Iran is a political execution, has been identified by the Revolutionary Court as spreading lies and propaganda against the government,” a source familiar with the case told Iran International on condition of anonymity.
The Revolutionary Courts of Tehran also fined her 500 million rials ($480) for “spreading false information” and 33 million rials ($31.8) for “appearing in public without the mandatory hijab.”
Additionally, the sentence includes a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on membership in political or social organizations.
Hasti Amiri was previously imprisoned in 2024 for participating in a peaceful protest the previous year against several incidents of poisoning of schoolgirls in Iran.
The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement erupted in Iran in 2022 after the killing of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, with women burning hijabs and demanding an end to mandatory Islamic dress codes and discriminatory laws.
Despite a state crackdown that killed hundreds and detained thousands, acts of defiance continue, with many women refusing to wear hijabs in public.
