Iranian Mother Jailed for 13 Years after Denouncing Death of Son Shot at Protest

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Mahsa Yazdani convicted of blasphemy and ‘insulting supreme leader’ as Iran regime targets families of those killed in protests

Mohammad Javad Zahedi with his mother, Mahsa Yazdani. She was jailed after calling for justice for her 20-year-old son, who was killed after being shot in protests last year. Photograph: Twitter
A mother in Iran, whose son was reportedly killed after being shot repeatedly at close range by security forces, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by an Iranian court after she demanded justice for her child on social media.

Mahsa Yazdani, whose 20-year-old son Mohammad Javad Zahedi was killed at an anti-regime protest in September 2022, was convicted on charges of blasphemy, incitement, insulting the supreme leader, and spreading anti-regime propaganda, according to human rights groups and family members. They say she will serve the first five years with no chance of parole.

Videos and photos of her son’s body riddled with shotgun pellets went viral on social media during the mass protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was arrested by Iran’s “morality police” for not wearing her hijab correctly. » | Deepa Parent | Thursday, November 2, 2023