[ad_1]
Human Rights Watch released a statement on Friday, condemning the arrest of the Iranian authorities, 13 people, who are still on trial, for participating in protests condemning the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.
Protests erupted after Iranian authorities shot down the Ukrainian plane on January 8, killing 176 passengers, during a military operation launched in response to the assassination of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani with a US foray into Iraq, and authorities claimed in that moment the plane was shot down “by mistake”.
Michael Page, deputy director of the organization’s Middle East office, said the Iranian regime continues its approach by evading responsibility, as it “refuses to provide information on the nature of the investigations into the fatal error.”
Page added that the Iranian judiciary wastes no time in prison for those who opposed the shooting down of the plane.
The organization’s report indicated that a student at an engineering school called Mustafa Hashemi Zadeh had been tweeted on May 1, saying he had been jailed for five years for participating in one of those protests.
Charges of “gathering and disrupting national security” were brought against Hashemi Zadeh, while an additional sentence of one year in prison and 74 lashes against him were issued.
The court sentenced the student, Muhammad Muhammad Sharifi, to six months in prison. Under the pretext of “spreading political propaganda against the state”, he was accused of taking photographs of officers who assaulted the student residence.
