Film producer given jail term after unfair trial

Image result for Mostafa Azizi filmAmnesty - Iranian writer and film producer Mostafa Azizi, a permanent resident of Canada, has been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. He has been convicted of vague and overly broad national security-related offences for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, including by posting on Facebook.

Mostafa Azizi, former chair of the Iran chapter of the International Animated Film Association, was sentenced on 8 June by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran to eight years in prison; five years for "gathering and colluding against national security", two years for "insulting Iran's Supreme Leader", and one year for "spreading propaganda against the system".

The sentence came after an unfair trial on 1 June which lasted a few hours and relied on evidence gathered by Revolutionary Guard officials during the 33 days they held Mostafa Azizi in solitary confinement in Section 2A of Tehran's Evin Prison with no access to his family or a lawyer. An appeal is pending before Branch 54 of the Revolutionary Court of Appeals.

Mostafa Azizi, now held in Section 8 of Evin Prison, told his son that during his trial, the prosecutor included as "evidence" at least two printouts of his Facebook posts. One was a photo of Mostafa Azizi with his hair shaved in solidarity with the men whose hair was forcibly shaved after the April 2014 Evin Prison incident, when security officials subjected some inmates of the prison to sustained brutality and assaults, and the other post was a photo of Mostafa Azizi during the Pride Parade in Toronto, Canada.

Mostafa Azizi has pre-existing health conditions, including asthma, eczema, rheumatism and high blood sugar levels. Section 8 of Evin Prison is severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated, the cells are filthy and infested with insects and lack adequate sleeping and sanitation facilities.
Please write immediately in English, Persian, French, Spanish or your own language:

 Calling on the Iranian authorities to release Mostafa Azizi immediately and unconditionally as he is held solely
for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, including by posting on Facebook;

 Urging them to quash his conviction and sentence;

 Reminding them that the UN Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners require that all prison
accommodations, include sleeping accommodation, meet all requirements of health.

http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/1745/2015/en/

http://www.insideofiran.org/en/cultureaart/12690-film-producer-given-jail-term-after-unfair-trial-mostafa-azizi.html