32 Years Imprisonment Upheld for Students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi’s sentences were upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. The elite students who have been held in the security Ward 209 of Evin Prison since April 2020, were sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Ali’s brother, Reza Younesi told Iran Human Rights: “The preliminary ruling was upheld by the Appeals Court; the legal and formalities flaws in the case that were appealed by the lawyers were ignored, as were the complaints Ali and Amirhossein filed about their torture and they are still being held in Ward 209 cells.”

Speaking to Emtedad, their lawyer, Mostafa Nilli said: “One of the most important arguments is that the title of the charges brought against them by the preliminary court do not conform to the rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Yet, the appellate court upheld the ruling without addressing the issue.”

“We’ll be requesting a retrial at the Supreme Court as the next step. And we also hope that in light of the appeal ruling, our clients will be taken out of the security Ward 209,” the lawyer added.

The students were sentenced to ten years imprisonment on charges of acting against national security, five years imprisonment for assembly and collusion against the system and a year for propaganda against the system. The ten year sentences will be enforceable after the consolidation of their sentences according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code.

Ali Younesi, a computer engineering student at Sharif University of Technology, and Amir Hossein Moradi, a physics student at the university, were arrested without a legal summons on 10 April 2020 and were held in solitary confinement for two months before being transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s (MOIS) Ward 209 in Evin Prison.

While at high school, Ali Younesi won silver and gold at the National Astronomy Olympiad in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In his senior year of high school, he won the gold medal with the Iranian national team at the 2018 World Astronomy Olympiad in China. Amir Hossein Moradi also won silver at the 2017 Iranian Astronomy Olympiad.