23 April 2026 :

April 22, 2026 - IRAN. Maryam Derisi and Fariba Hosseini sentenced to prison and flogging

Arrested during the December protests

Iranian authorities have sentenced two women activists, Maryam Derisi and Fariba Hosseini, who were arrested during the December protests, to a combined seven years in prison and 74 lashes.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Branch 101 of Criminal Court No. 2 in Shiraz, acting in place of a Revolutionary Court, recently sentenced Derisi, a resident of Kazerun, to one year in prison and 74 lashes on charges of “disrupting public order and peace.”

A separate case against Derisi on charges of “propaganda against the state” remains open, with no verdict issued so far.

In the same court, Hosseini, a resident of Shiraz, was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion with intent to commit crimes against national security” and an additional one year for “propaganda against the state,” for a total sentence of six years.

The court acquitted Hosseini of a separate charge of “insulting the Supreme Leader.” Under Iran’s sentencing aggregation rules, the most severe sentence of five years is expected to be enforced.

Hosseini was arrested in Shiraz on Jan. 3, 2026, while Derisi was arrested in Kazerun on Feb. 12, 2026, during a broader wave of detentions linked to the December protests.

Both women were released on bail on March 8, 2026, pending the conclusion of judicial proceedings.

Both activists had previously faced arrests and judicial convictions because of their civil activism.