Kurdish civilian Fatemeh Davand was sentenced to 5 years and 5 months in prison and 30 lashes in two separate cases decided at the Bukan Criminal Court and the Mahabad Revolutionary Court in West Azerbaijan province. She was arrested in Saqqez for taking part in protests against the sudden rise in gasoline prices in Iran in November 2019 but she was later released on a bail.
“On Feb 6, 2020, her trial was held at Branch 103 of the Bukan Criminal Court on charges of “disturbing public order by participating in riots” and “unveiling her hijab”. Judge Mehdi Taghizadeh acquitted her of the charge of unveiling her hijab, but she was sentenced to five months in prison and 30 lashes on the other charge .”, a relative of the civil activist told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
According to this source, another case was filed against Ms Davand on charges of “membership in the Komala Party”, but this charge was changed to “participation in gatherings and collusion to disrupt the state’s security” after the end of the interrogation period and the issuance of the indictment.
“Her trial was held at Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, presided over by Judge Javad Gholami, on May 13 when a lawyer was appointed to defend her. In early July, her five-year-imprisonment sentence on charges of” conspiracy and collusion against national security was served on her lawyer.
The source further added that Ms Davand had not contested the verdict and decided to surrender. A quarter of this verdict is supposed to be reduced according to the Article on Surrendering to Verdict, but so far she has not been notified of the final verdict.
Fatemeh Davand was arrested in Saqqez for taking part in protests against the rise in gasoline prices in Iran in November 2019. She was subjected to mental and physical torture for 13 days in the Detention Centre of the Orumiyeh Intelligence Office for making forced confessions.
The video of Fatemeh Davand’s forced confessions was broadcasted in the media of the Islamic Republic of Iran a few days after her arrest. After completing the interrogation period, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison but she was released on April 26, 2010, on a bail of 1 billion Tomans.
