Two Iranian students sentenced to 16 years in prison
Iranian court rules that Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi endangered national security by sabotaging public facilities and cooperating with opposition groups
TEHRAN, Iran — A court in Iran has sentenced two students to 16-year prison terms each on charges of endangering national security, the judiciary’s spokesman said Tuesday.
According to the spokesman, Zabihollah Khodaeian, the two sabotaged public facilities, tried to cooperate with opposition groups and spread propaganda against the system.
These actions translated to 10-year, five-year and one-year prison terms, he added.
If an appeals court upholds the ruling, the 10-year term will go into effect, Khodaeian added.
The authorities detained the two students — Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi — of the prestigious Sharif Industrial University in 2020.
Their arrest prompted an outcry among students and teachers of the university, as well as by Amnesty International and various rights groups. Younesi and Moradi have been in custody since then.
#Iran has sentenced two award-winning students who have been under arrest for two years to 16 years in prison each, a rights group reports.https://t.co/lOWZOrWBDB
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) April 25, 2022
Younesi’s lawyer Mostafa Nili said the students would appeal the verdict by the Islamic Revolutionary Court, which handles security-related charges.
