Father Of Slain Protester Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison
Manouchehr Bakhtiari, the father of protester Pouya Bakhtiari who was killed during the November 2019 demonstrations, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Manouchehr Bakhtiari, the father of protester Pouya Bakhtiari who was killed during the November 2019 demonstrations, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
According to a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Tuesday, Bakhtiari was also handed a sentence of 74 lashes as a result of a case opened against him during his detention.
The sentencing is the latest in a string of cases which has seen Iranians handed punishments such as finger amputation and lashings, amidst a nationwide crackdown on dissent.
The charges against Bakhtiari include "conspiracy and collusion with the intent to commit crimes against national security," "formation and management of a group in cyberspace with the aim of undermining national security," "spreading lies," "anti-establishment propaganda," and "disturbing public minds."
Bakhtiari’s son, Pouya, aged 27, sustained a gunshot wound to the head in Karaj amid the November 2019 protests. The family attributes his death to security forces and has openly advocated for holding the authorities responsible not only for his son's death but also for the alleged deaths of hundreds of others at the hands of security forces.
The trial for his father's charges took place through a video conference on December 24, reflecting the challenges faced in ensuring a fair legal process.
Earlier this year, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Karaj had imposed an additional sentence of six months in prison on Bakhtiari on the charge of "insulting the leader" based on a separate case.
Bakhtiari was first arrested on April 28, 2021, when security forces used excessive force during the apprehension at his residence in Tehran. Subsequently, the Revolutionary Court convicted him to three years and six months in prison, two years and six months in exile, and a two-year travel ban.
Abolishing the hijab on January 17, 1936, was only one aspect of the modernization attempts by Reza Shah Pahlavi the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. He not only freed Iranian women from hijab, but he also paved the way for them to be active members of society as teachers, government officials, nurses, and highly educated professionals.
Later in the dynasty's rule, Iranian women gained the right to vote and run for parliament, preceding many countries in granting women equal rights. However, the modernization of women and changes in their lifestyles were significantly reversed with the ascent of fundamentalist Shiite clerics to power in Iran in 1979.
In a statement released on the occasion, Farah Pahlavi praised Reza Shah for helping Iranian women to shine and “to free them from the dungeons of prejudice." She said the occasion is a landmark in the evolution of Iranian women's modern identity, adding that "many Iranian women today praise the two kings of the Pahlavi dynasty without even having lived in their period." The women, she said, demand Iran's return to the track of progress of that period.
Farah Pahlavi, characterized the current regime of Iran as "evil" and reiterated that "Finally, light will overcome darkness and Iran will be back on the track to freedom, welfare, and progress."
The modernization process initiated by Reza Shah in the 1920s propelled Iran from the depths of the Middle Ages into the modern world. Women became active and productive members of Iranian society in this evolving nation, as people transitioned from carts to trains and enrolled in newly established universities to acquire modern skills, bringing the country in line with the rapidly developing global landscape.
A modern justice system brought an end to clerical rule, limiting their involvement to solemnizing marriages and divorces, which still required registration at the Judiciary offices.
One of the initial actions taken by the Islamic regime after 1979 was the imposition of compulsory hijab on women. This was done to facilitate the suppression of women in society and symbolize the reversal of the modernization efforts initiated during the Pahlavi era.
Later, the clerics established their domination on the judicial system by replacing judges with clergymen who often were not trained to handle judicial cases. The law ceased to exist, and every decision was left to arbitrary ruling by clerics who often came from small villages.
Meanwhile, the destruction of the academic system persists as the regime dismisses university professors and replaces them with regime insiders loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Many officials bestow upon each other the title of "doctor," often without having completed high school. It was even exposed during televised presidential election debates in 2021 that Ebrahim Raisi, who later became president, had only received an elementary education, yet he holds the title of "Ayatollah, Doctor Raisi."
The suppression of women is one of the most elaborate examples of how the Iranian regime works. In early January, Roya Heshmati, an Iranian woman presented a dramatic account of how she was given 74 lashes for not wearing hijab. As her story went viral on social media, the regime tried to deny her account. Interestingly, tens of other women came out to tell their stories about being lashed in previous weeks and months.
Critics say that hijab is the Islamic regime's last trench to defend its existence and Islamic identity as it has lost its Islamic credential after major financial corruptions were disclosed. Nonetheless, the Islamic Republic ruthlessly cracks down on women who defy the compulsory hijab using the ‘morality police’ and the IRGC's Basij militia, while also passing laws to enforce hijab with the motto "Cover or suffer." Particularly, since the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom movement, many women have been suffering in jail and receiving lashes as religious punishment, although sharia scholars say there is very little if any about compulsory hijab and its punishment in the Quran.
