Change for Equality: According to a report by Radio Zamaneh, an appeals court has sentenced Shahnaz Gholami, women’s rights activist and weblogger in Azarbaijan Province, to six months mandatory prison sentence. Gholami who was arrested in November is currently in prison in Azarbaijan. She had been sentenced to six months prison for "spreading of propaganda against the state" in October and was free on bail while appealing her sentence, but was arrested again on a different charge prior to the announcement of the decision by the appeals court. According to her lawyer, Mr. Naghi Mahmoudi the current case against his client is in the investigative stage. Mr. Mahmoudi also pointed to the fact that his client, Shahnaz Gholami had gone on hunger strike which lasted 8 days, to protest her recent arrest. Further Mr. Mahmoudi reported that according to Gholami’s family members who were able to visit her in prison recently, this women’s rights activist is suffering from medical ailments for which she has not been able to receive appropriate medical care while in prison.

Shahnaz Gholami is a member of the Association of Female Journalists and had spent 5 years in prison between 1989-1994 and was arrested again in 2007 and spent one month in prison. This journalist has written extensively on women’s issues as well ethnic rights of Azari minorities.