Iranian authorities have leveled serious accusations against prominent rights advocate Pooran Nazemi and at least three other activists, including "insulting the sacred tenets of Islam," "waging war against God" and "spreading corruption on Earth" – charges that could potentially carry the death penalty.
The Dadban legal group said on October 18 that the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Jiroft, a city in southwestern Kerman province, initiated legal proceedings against the activists.
Dadban said it didn’t know the identities of the accused besides Nazemi and the exact accusations the group faces.
“Nazemi's legal team is actively investigating to obtain more information regarding the details of these charges," a source told IranWire.
The source emphasized that Nazemi is a dedicated civil and human rights activist who has consistently advocated non-violence.
"Nazemi has never ventured into the realm of religion to demean the sanctity of Islam, and all her activities are transparent and accessible," the source also said.
Some of the accused in the case were arrested by the intelligence branch of the Kerman Revolutionary Guard Corps during last year’s nationwide protests.
After being subjected to interrogation and torture for several months, their case has been sent to the First Branch of the Jiroft Revolutionary Court for review.
Nazemi has been arrested and sentenced to prison on multiple occasions over the past years.
Her most recent arrest occurred on February 1, when she and her sister, Parvaneh Nazemi, went to Mehrgan Hospital in Kerman to visit their ailing father.
The officers who detained the two sisters did not present any arrest warrant.
Pooran and Parvaneh Nazimi were released on bail on February 7.
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