Journalist and student activist, Payman Aref, has been sentenced to 1 year in prison and 74 lashes.

RAHANA – The 26th branch of the Revolutioanry Court issued its judgment for Payman Aref, a journalist and rights activist who was arrested shortly after the June presidential election.
According to RAHANA, Aref was tried on February 23 by judge Pirabassi at the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court. Aref who was represented by Messers Dadkhah, Oliyayifar and Faghihi during the hearing, was tried on 2 counts of membership in an anti Islamic Republic group and propaganda activities against the system (based on his membership in the National Front of Iran) and one count of insulting the president (based on an open letter he had written to Ahmadinejad on May 26, 2009).
On Tuesday March 2, Aref was brought from Evin prison to court where his verdict was communicated to him. The court acquitted Aref on one count of membership in an anti regime group but found him guilty of two other charges. He has been sentenced to one year in prison for anti-regime propaganda activities and 74 lashes for insulting the president.
Furthermore, because of his prior conviction and his contempt for authorities, the court decided the above mentioned punishments were not sufficient and based on article 19 of the Islamic Penal Law, sentenced Aref to a lifetime ban from journalism and any membership in political parties.
Aref was arrested on June 18, 2009 to serve a 1 ½ year prior prison sentence given to him on 2005 by judge Haddad-who was the head of the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court at the time-for a speech he gave in 2002 at Tehran University in support of Dr. Aghajari.

Nima Latif, an Amir Kabir University student who was arrested on Ashura (December 27), remains in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

RAHANA – Nima Latif, a medical engineering student at Amir Kabir University, has been detained despite the fact that he has no history of political activities.
RAHANA was told by Latif’s friends that his interrogation ended last month, and, according to the interrogators, the case has been sent to the Revolutionary Court.
Latif was arrested by plainclothes agents in the afternoon of December 27, 2009 near the university dormitory on Hafez Avenue.
There is no information on his condition or the Evin ward in which he is being kept.

Hengameh Shahidi was arrested to start serving a 6-year jail term after the Appeals Court upheld the first court’s ruling.

RAHANA – Mohammad Mostafaie confirmed the news of the ruling and added that the Appeals Court has reduced the sentence to 6 years and $50 fine from the initial 6 years 3 months and one day. The 3-month one day reduction was granted for one count of insulting the president.
Following Shahidi’s arrest two days ago, Mostafaie who had gone to the Revolutionary Court to inquire was shown the Appeals Court judgement issued a day before his client’s arrest. Only God knows why she was arrested so hastily and only one day after court’s ruling, said Mostafaie.
Shahidi was arrested last Thursday after being summoned to the investigations office of the Intelligence Ministry to answer a “few questions”.
The journalist was first arrested shortly after the election on June 30, 2009 and released on $90,000 bail 161 days later.

Reza Khandan – a member of the Iranian Writers Association – and Babak Nazarnejad have been missing since their arrests in February.

RAHANA – Reza Khandan (also known as Morteza Mahabadi) has been missing since his arrest on February 6th, 2010. Khandan is a member of the Iranian Writers Association.
According to a RAHANA reporter, Khandan has not contacted his family since his arrest, leaving them in the dark about his situation. Today, Evin and Revolutionary Court officials refused once again to provide the family of the jailed writer with information.
Also missing is Babak Nazarnejad, who has not contacted his family since his arrest on February 6th, 2010. Nazarnejad is a resident of Shahr-Ray, a township south of Tehran.