Change for Equality: Student and women’s rights activist Bahareh Hedayat’s nine and half year prison sentence has been upheld in appeal. The sentence was submitted to her lawyer on Saturday July 24.

According to reports by Rahana, Bahareh Hedayat faced a variety of charges after her arrest, including spreading of propaganda against the state through interviews with foreign media, insulting the Leader of IRI, insulting the President of the IRI, disruption of public order through participation in illegal protests, illegal entry into and vandalism of Amir Kabir University during a visit by Mehdi Karoubi and illegal gathering and collusion against the state.
The 28th branch of the Revolutionary Courts had issued a sentence of nine and half years in the initial court hearing. Hedayat was given 6 months for insulting the president, 2 years for insulting the Leader and 5 years for anti-state and anti-national security actions. The sentence was upheld in the 54th branch of the Tehran appeals court, without consideration of new investigations. It should be noted that Bahareh was sentenced to a two year suspended prison term for her participation in the protest of women’s rights in Haft-e Tir square in June 2006. The two year suspended sentence has been added to her 7 and half year sentence, making her mandatory prison time 9 and half years.

Bahareh Hedayat is a well known women’s rights activist, student leader and member of the Central Council of Student Organization Office to Foster Unity. She was arrested in the midst of the unrest following the disputed presidential elections, on December 31, 2009 and has remained in prison since.

It should be noted that Milad Asadi, another leading student activist and member of Student Organization to Foster Unity was sentence to 7 years prison term. This sentence has also been upheld in appeasl. Milad Asadi was arrested on November 30, 2009.