Saturday September 18th, 2010 Summary Translation: The full 8 1/2 year prison sentence was confirmed by the Revolutionary Court for Majid Tavakoli, a member of the Islamic Association of Amir Kabir University, who was arrested on December 7th, 2009 following a speech he gave at a student gathering. The swift trial and accelerated sentencing process took place 8 months after Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, had handed down its initial verdict; this while Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Tavakoli's lawyer in response to his numerous inquiries about the appeals court proceedings, had been informed that Tavakoli's case had not yet been reviewed. It is also worth mentioning that Tavakoli's lawyers were not allowed to attend any of the court proceedings throughout the judiciary process.
According to DaneshjooNews, after two court hearings that took place at the 15th Branch of the Revolutionary Court on January 3rd and January 11th, 2010, Majid Tavakoli's sentence was handed down by Judge Salavati on January 18th, 2010. Citing Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code, Tavakoli was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on charges of conspiring against the national security of the country. As per Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, Tavakoli was sentenced to an additional 1 year imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the regime, 2 years imprisonment as per Article 514 on charges of insulting the Supreme Leader and another 6 months imprisonment as per article 609 of the Islamic Penal Code for insulting the president. In addition, as per Article 19 of the Islamic Penal Code, Tavakoli was banned for 5 years from all political activities, without the ability to leave the country. The swift trial and accelerated sentencing process took place 8 months after Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, had handed down its initial verdict; this while Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Tavakoli's lawyer in response to his numerous inquiries about the appeals court proceedings, had been informed that Tavakoli's case had not yet been reviewed. It is also worth mentioning that Tavakoli's lawyers were not allowed to attend any of the court proceedings throughout the judiciary process.
Tavakoli has been arrested 3 times and has spent months behind bars in the past few years. He was first arrested by the Intelligence Ministry in the spring of 2008, charged with forging student publications, spending a year and seven months in prison. Tavakoli was later cleared of these charges. Tavakoli was once again arrested in front of Hosseiniye Ershad in Tehran during a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the passing of Bazargan and spent 115 days in solitary confinement in Evin's ward 209.
A member of the Tahkim-Vahdat Student Association, Tavakoli was transferred to Evin prison after being arrested a third time while attending Student Day celebrations on December 7th, 2009, following a speech he gave at Amir Kabir University on that day. Tavakoli was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj on the orders by Tehran's prosecutor, after he and 16 other political prisoners went on a long hunger strike protesting the unacceptable prison conditions in Evin's ward 350.
The swift approval process and confirmation of Majid Tavakoli's original verdict and the verdicts of other well-known student activists of the Tahkim-Vahdat Student Association, such as Milad Asadi and Bahareh Hedayat, are as a result of the regime's fear of the tense atmosphere in the nation's universities with the beginning of the new academic year. There are whispers that students intend to restart their protests against continued arrests and the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere that has surrounded the nation since the coup elections of June 1999. The confirmation of long and heavy sentences against student activists is considered yet another step towards creating a climate of fear and intimidation within the universities.
Source: Kaleme - http://www.kaleme.com/1389/06/27/klm-32198
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