Kurdish Activist Shahram Bolouri Sentenced to 4.5 Years

Kurdish activist Shahram Bolouri

A source close to the case of Shahram Bolouri told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the Kurdish activist’s 4.5 year prison sentence has been upheld by Branch 36 of Tehran’s Appeals Court. Last October, Bolouri, a Tehran resident, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison by Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on the charge of “assembly and collusion against the regime”.

During the events following the 2009 presidential election in Iran, Bolouri was arrested by security forces at his home on 23 June 2009. He was transferred to Ward 240 of Evin Prison where he spent eight months in solitary confinement and then to General Wards 209 and 350, under severe psychological pressure and physically challenging conditions.

The court initially set a $1 million bail for Bolouri, but due to his family’s inability to raise the bail amount, it was reduced to $200,000. He was released on bail on 16 February 2010. Judge Moghisseh, who presided over Bolouri’s trial, is one of the judges who has issued the heaviest sentences for political detainees after the 2009 presidential election.