Arsham Mahmoud Rezaei

According to reports, on Monday, December 25, 2023, Arsham Mahmoud Rezaei, imprisoned in Ward 4, quarantine section of Evin Prison, will be tried by Iman Afshari, the judge of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

A knowledgeable individual reported in an interview: "Based on the notification sent to Arsham Mahmoud Rezaei, he is required to be transferred from Evin Prison to Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court at 10 AM on Monday, December 25, 2023, to present his defense against charges of insulting the leadership, insulting sanctities, insulting Ruhollah Khomeini, assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt internal and external security, propaganda against the regime, forming operational and combat groups with the intent to kill, promoting violence, teaching how to make Molotov cocktails, inciting street riots, having connections with networks opposing the regime, and waging war."

Arsham Mahmoud Rezaei was arrested on October 17, 2023, by officers of the Sarallah Headquarters of the IRGC Intelligence Organization in the Fardis district of Karaj. He was transferred to the detention center of that security agency for case formation and was deprived of access to a lawyer and other civil rights of an accused. Currently, he is under temporary detention following the notification of charges.

Arsham Mahmoud Rezaei was arrested for new case formation and interrogation despite being repeatedly threatened by officers of that security agency in recent months. Notably, he was arrested following a violent raid on his mother's home.

This constitutionalist political activist was first arrested on January 7, 2019, by IRGC intelligence officers near Enghelab Square in Tehran. After being transferred to his residence, his home was searched, and personal belongings were seized. He was moved to solitary confinement in Ward 1A of the IRGC. On January 19, 2019, after spending 13 days in solitary confinement in the IRGC's security ward, he was transferred to Branch 2 of the Security Prosecutor's Office located in Evin Prison, charged, and released temporarily on bail of 2.5 billion rials after posting bail.

With the start of judicial proceedings, on March 16, 2019, he was sentenced by Mohammad Moghiseh, the then judge of Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, to 8 years and 6 months of imprisonment for charges of propaganda against the regime, assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security, and insulting the leadership. Upon appeal, the case was referred to Branch 36 of the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeals, and on July 18, 2020, the sentence was upheld. On November 17, 2020, under the pretext of executing his prison sentence, he was arrested by law enforcement officers and transferred to Ward 209 of the Ministry of Intelligence located in Evin Prison. After completing interrogation and investigation on November 22, 2020, he was transferred to Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj to serve his sentence. On February 12, 2023, he was released in line with the judiciary's directive on pardon and sentence reduction, coinciding with the closure of his case.