Iranian Medical Couple Sentenced to Total of 20 Years in Prison

An Iranian court has sentenced a medical couple to a total of 20 years in prison in connection to the alleged killing of a member of the paramilitary Basij force during protests, activists say. 

The court in Karaj, near Tehran, sentenced Hamid Ghareh Hasanlou, a radiologist, to 15 years, while his wife Farzaneh, a lab technician, was handed a five-year sentence, Dadban, a network of Iranian lawyers, said on April 18.

It said the two prisoners have not received medical treatment despite their “worrying physical conditions.”

The man has suffered serious injuries to his pelvis and lungs and sustained damage to his eyes as a result of beatings. 

The couple was arrested after it participated in a November 3 ceremony in Karaj marking the 40th day since the killing of a teenage protester, Hadis Najafi, by security forces.

Hamid Ghareh Hassanlou, 53, was initially handed capital punishment on December 5, while his wife received a 25-year prison sentence.

The case stemmed from the killing of a Basiji, identified as Ruhollah Ajamian, in Karaj on November 3.

Local media quoted the judiciary chief of Alborz province as saying on November 12 that the militiaman was killed by “rioters,” a term used by officials to describe anti-government protesters who have taken to the streets across Iran since September 2022.

Pictures of Ajamian holding an assault rifle and being trained to suppress protesters later circulated on social networks.

Several other people have been arrested in connection to Ajamian’s alleged killing. Two young men, Mohammad Mahdi Karmi and Mohammad Hosseini, were executed amid international condemnation.

The Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on the nationwide protests sparked by the September 16 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police.

More than 520 people were killed and over 20,000 others were unlawfully detained, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.