The Security Deputy of the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office has issued a court sentence ‎for Nasrin Afzali, a women’s movement activist in Iran, that will send her to prison for ‎six months, and subject her to 10 slashes.‎

On March 3, 2008 Nasrin Afzali was arrested along with 32 other women’s rights ‎activists in Iran as they were peacefully demonstrating across Tehran Prosecutor’s Office. ‎The initial charge against her was illegal assembly, complicity to threaten national ‎security, disruption of public order and disregard for police orders. The deputy prosecutor ‎issued a sentence based on these charges.‎

Afzali’s attorney Mohammad Mostafayi said in this regard, “After the charges were filed ‎against my client, the case was sent to the 13th bench of the Revolutionary Court. The ‎proceedings of the court were illegal and were held in the absence of the deputy ‎prosecutor. My client defended herself and the court issued a sentence confining her to ‎six months in prison and 10 slashes. The execution of the sentence has been put on hold ‎for two years.” The attorney further stated that there was no acceptable evidence against ‎his client and that the court had actually acquitted her of the charges of illegal assembly ‎and disregard for police orders. ‎

Afzali herself said that she considered the sentence to be illogical. “How can someone be ‎acquitted on charges of illegal assembly and disregard for police orders while be ‎sentenced for disrupting public order at the same time?” ‎

Her attorney said he was protesting the sentence.‎

Prior to this, Marzie Mortazi Langharoodi, another women’s rights activist facing the ‎same charges was sentenced to six months of prison and 10 slashes. On March 29, 2008, ‎another woman activist Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh was given a suspended sentence of 2 ‎years of prison.‎