Majid Tavakkoli

.Majid Tavakkoli is a political activist and former member of the student association of Amir Kabir University in Tehran. He was a prominent activist in the student movement in the 2000s. He was arrested and sentenced to prison repeatedly.

<coverage-outsourcing id='42299'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/o2_students/416828.html'> He was arrested and taken to Evin Prison along with several members of student associations at Sharif University. According to Radio Farda, they were charged with publishing and distributing student magazines containing caricatures of Ali Khamenei and anti-Islamic content. The student association of Sharif University has rejected the accusations and claimed that the distributed magazines were fake. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42311'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f4_Tavakoli_Majid_health/405200.html'> According to Radio Farda, Majid Tavakkoli went on a hunger strike for being subjected to torture and pressure from interrogators for a fake confession. Ali Tavakkoli, his brother, announced on the 21st day of his hunger strike that he is in bad health and that their father has seen signs of torture on his body during their visit. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42300'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/bank/majid-tavakkoli/'> The 6th branch of the revolutionary court of Tehran sentenced Majid Tavakkoli to six years in prison. According to HRANA, he was sentenced to prison for sacrilege. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42301'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/bank/majid-tavakkoli/'> According to HRANA, the appeal court of Tehran province sentenced Majid Tavakkoli to 30 months in Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42303'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/bank/majid-tavakkoli/'> Majid Tavakkoli was released on parole after 15 months in prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42304'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/n1_amirkabir_university_majid_tavakoli_statment_arrest_activist/1899779.html'> He was arrested and transferred to ward 209 of Evin Prison while attending an event on the anniversary of the death of Mehdi Bazargan, the prime minister of the interim government after the Islamist Revolution of 1979. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42305'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/bank/majid-tavakkoli/'> HRANA reported that Majid Tavakkoli was released after 115 days in solitary in wards 240 and 204 of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42306'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/F8_TAVAKKOLI_SENTENCE_OTHERS/1934626.html'> He was arrested after giving a speech at Amir Kabir University on Students' Day. His brother Ali Tavakkoli told Radio Farda that he was severely beaten during the arrest. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42309'> <reference source='https://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=21900'> The 15th branch of the revolutionary court of Tehran presided by Judge Abolghasem Salavati sentenced Majid Tavakkoli to the sum of eight years and eight months in prison, which breaks down to five years in prison for assembly and collusion to act against national security, one year in prison for propaganda against the state, two years in prison for insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic, and six months in prison for insulting the president. The court also banned him from political activities and from leaving the country for five years. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42315'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/amp/f2_Czech_Homo_Homini_award_Tavakoli_Momeni_Iran_student_movement/1979854.html'> Majid Tavakkoli and Abdollah Momeni received the Homo Homini Award in 2009. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42310'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f4_Tavakoli_Majid_brother_interview_strike/2053640.html'> Majid Tavakkoli went on a dry hunger strike. Radio Farda reported that he did this in response to being returned to a solitary cell. Later his brother told Daneshjoo News that his brother suffered stomach bleeding as a result of the hunger strike. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42321'> <reference source='https://www.peykeiran.com/Content.aspx?ID=21900'> According to Peik Iran, Majid Tavakkoli's primary sentence was confirmed by the 54th branch of the appeal court of Tehran province verbatim. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42316'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2013/02/130215_l57_student_prize_majidtavakoli'> The International Student Peace Award committee declared Majid Tavakkoli as its 2013 winner. According to BBC Persian, the committee stated that he received this award for his efforts toward peace, democracy, and freedom. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42313'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f8-tavakoli-out-of-jail-after-4-years-1/25143852.html'> Majid Tavakkoli went on furlough for the first time after four years in prison. He was sent on furlough from Rajaei Shahr Prison on a bail of six billion rials. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42314'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2015/05/150510_l26_majid_tavakoli_released_prison'> He was released after serving his sentence. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42317'> <reference source='https://t.me/hranews/72487'> Majid Tavakkoli was arrested. His brother told HRANA that the security forces barged into their house and tried to scare everyone while flashing a warrant at 1:30 am and arrested him at his home in Tehran. The agents confiscated his phone and laptop and his wife's laptop and told his family that they will take Majid Tavakkoli to the courthouse in the 33rd district. He was arrested during the national uprising in Iran triggered by the murder of Mahsa Amini. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42495'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1577639606425735168'> His wife (@janana653 on Twitter) announced that her husband has called her and told her that he has contracted coronavirus. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46464'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1579757646596358144?s=20'> His wife tweeted that Mr. Tavakkoli has been held in solitary since his arrest. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46465'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1581521096914108416?s=20'> In a phone call to his wife, Mr. Tavakkoli told her that the pressure in the interrogations has intensified, but he will not be intimidated. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='42749'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1581521096914108416?s=20&t=xohuyedW7Mh-1rP0KqiSZg'> His wife tweeted that the Evin court authorities refuse to answer her questions about her husband's situation. She tweeted the next day saying Majid Tavakkoli called her and told her that the interrogations have become even more intense and he is being threatened. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46466'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1586413551878828032?s=20'> His wife tweeted that the interrogations have continued for over a month after his arrest, and no bail was set. She also said the courthouse refuses to answer her or even allow her inside. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46462'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/NewshaSaremi/status/1589321549878013953?s=20'> Iran International reported that Majid Tavakkoli has been severely beaten in ward 241 of Evin Prison and was transferred to an undisclosed location. After that his communication with his family was cut off for several days and the family's inquiries remained unanswered. Based on the report, Mr. Tavakkoli was beaten after objecting to the mistreatment of prisoners by the guards. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46387'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1591876790712422400?s=20'> He was transferred to the Greater Tehran Prison. His wife said his body still aches from the assaults. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='46463'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/janana653/status/1605275097299701761?s=20'> He was released on bail. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='48571'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1629080038233497602'> In a series of tweets, Mahid Tavakkoli described the last days leading to the execution of Mohsen Shekari: > When Mohsen Shekari was arrested, they brought him to ward 209 and later 241 [of Evin Prison]. He was in hall two. after the riot in ward 7 of Evin, all the prisoners from ward 241 were moved to hall one and I saw him there for the first time. He was arrested with his buddy Alireza. He was hopeless and wasn't communicative. after a few days of chatting, he started to talk about his case and hard life. The interrogation process was very quick and his case was sent to court. He had a bad court-appointed attorney. Ms. Razieh Sekhavati usually doesn't do much to save her clients. She had convinced him to accept the initial confession so she can use his family condition and medical history and his previous suicide attempt to help him. Which usually doesn't work and the medical committee session had taken only a few minutes. After our talk, Mohsen agreed to reject his initial forced confession, fire his attorney, and hire hire a couple of other lawyers (Raisian and Nili who was still free at the time). After the first trial session, he seemed to be in a better mood. After his transfer, I was unaware of his situation for a while. But he believed that the case process is going well. The person who was stabbed wasn't badly injured and Mohsen would have been fined 50 or 70 million rials. The argument was he was trying to defend his friend. They had made him some promises at court. I was concerned. Forced video confession and the court not accepting his chosen attorneys were concerning... A few attorneys were trying to find his family and help him legally... At noon everyone had heard the bad news. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='52778'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1650811690060062722?s=20'> The hearing of Majid Tavakkoli's case was held at Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. According to Mr. Tavakkoli's tweet, the case has been returned to the prosecutor's office due to deficiencies in the investigation and documentation. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='52777'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1680157239640719360?s=20'> The last hearing in the case of Majid Tavakkoli was held in Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court [headed by Judge Amouzad]. While announcing this news, Mr. Tavakkoli wrote on his Twitter that the Ministry of Intelligence insists on issuing a heavy sentence and the case mentions examples such as "communication with hostile individuals, groups and governments". Referring to the accusations of "propaganda against the system, and assembly and collusion to commit a crime against the security of the country" brought against him, Majid Tavakoli said that he faced these accusations simply because of his writings. Regarding his second accusation, he explained that basically, this accusation is not correct because "I have not had any collective activity in these years." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='52884'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1681213234509131777'> Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court [headed by Judge Amouzad] sentenced Majid Tavakkoli to five years in prison on the charge of assembly and collusion against the country's security, and to one year in prison on the charge of propaganda against the system. In addition to imprisonment, he has been sentenced by the court to be banned from online activity, banned from staying in Tehran, and banned from leaving the country (each for two years). By applying Article 134 of the Criminal Code, five years of imprisonment and additional punishment will be applicable to Mr. Tavakkoli. While announcing his conviction, Majid Tavakkoli wrote on Twitter that this verdict was only due to the publication of articles and "there is no evidence or proof of collective activity or connection with the hostile government and opponents in the case." </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='53022'> <reference source='https://x.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1682696519479177216?s=20'> Majid Tavakkoli released some parts of his ruling along with his explanations on Twitter. Atlas has quoted a summary of the most important points of this tweet below. In one of the paragraphs of the Revolutionary Court's document, it is claimed that Mr. Tavakkoli signed a collective statement "with a number of anti-revolutionary elements inside and outside Iran about sanctions." Mr. Tavakli has written in this regard that no collective statement has been signed by him in recent years and "it is definitely a mistake in filing and no document has been presented!" Majid Tavakkoli has written in his explanation about the Revolutionary Court's claim of "defense of armed struggle": > It is not mentioned in my writings even once, on the contrary, I have stated my constant opposition to guerrilla warfare and armed struggle many times. I think that the texts and statements were too incomprehensible for them! They didn't even understand the sarcasm in the sentence, "Whoever wants to do guerrilla work, let him do it. The concern of the public mind about the hunger strike of Hossein Ronaghi was also among the clauses of this ruling; While Mr. Tavakkoli was in custody before the arrest and after the release of Mr. Ronaghi. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='53023'> <reference source='https://x.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1694273854338699430?s=20'> Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals of Tehran province confirmed his sentence of six years in prison and additional punishment by the ruling of Judges Houzan and Khalili. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='53024'> <reference source='https://x.com/MajidTavakolii/status/1700803135013318969?s=20'> Majid Tavakoli was summoned to the first branch of the Evin Prosecutor's Office to serve five years of imprisonment. Mohammad Mehrdadi is the head of this branch. According to the image of the summons published on Mr. Tavakkoli's Twitter page, he must appear at this branch within five days. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='53063'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2023/hranews/a-44169/'> Majid Tavakkoli reported to Evin Prison to serve his 5-year sentence. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='54877'> <reference source='https://t.me/hammihanonline/37393'> While issuing an order to stop the execution of the sentence, the Supreme Court accepted the request for retrial and sent the case of Mr. Tavakkoli to a branch of the same rank for re-examination. His lawyers, Masoud Ahmadian and Milad Panahipour, told Ham Mihan about the reasons for accepting the request for retrial, that this case was initially opened only with the accusation of propaganda against the state, but at the time of issuing the indictment, the accusation of assembly and collusion to take action against Security was also added without citing the evidence. According to the lawyers, based on this illegal action, the court accepted the request for retrial. His lawyers further added that the Court of Appeal issued its decision with an unreasonable speed so that the total time spent on examining the case, issuing and communicating the verdict was one week. Referring to the review process of the request for retrial in the Supreme Court, which took a month, they mentioned that one week was not enough time to deal with this case and this process could indicate the carelessness of the Court of Appeal. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='55102'> <reference source='https://x.com/janana653/status/1752274657825182095?s=20'> Branch 54 of Tehran Court of Appeal confirmed his imprisonment and supplementary punishment verbatim. Mr. Tavakkoli's case was recently referred to the appeals court with the arguments of the 39th branch of the Supreme Court that he was not guilty, but the relevant branch did not accept the arguments of the court and insisted on the continuation of the prison sentence. Mr. Tavakkoli's wife wrote on Twitter that the court confirmed the verdict with the following argument: > According to the Intelligence letter on Majid Tavakkoli, he is seeking to overthrow the holy system of the Islamic Republic and establish a liberal government. His lawyers, Milad Panahipour and Masoud Ahmadian, after this verdict was issued, reminded in an interview with Shargh that the attribution of the charge of assembly and collusion to the activities of Majid Tavakoli is against the law. His lawyers emphasize that according to the law, Mr. Tavakkoli should have been released from prison during the retrial, but Branch 54 illegally refused to issue bail. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
<coverage-outsourcing id='55733'> <reference source='https://www.sharghdaily.com/fa/tiny/news-918775'> An article titled "Sovereignty of Law and Legal Science Processes" by attorney at law Amir Raisian was published in Shargh newspaper, in which part of the article examines Majid Tavakkoli's case. According to Mr. Raisian, Mr. Tavakkoli's arrest is basically in question, because the term "preventive arrest" is used in the case. He continued that sometime after his arrest, he was accused of "media blackmail" regarding the arrest of a person. This claim was made in the circumstances that Majid Tavakkoli was in prison at the time of this person's arrest and basically, he was unable to do this. Raisian added that in the indictment of the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, "surprisingly" the story of the Polytechnic University and student publications was mentioned, and on the other hand, the claim that he left in disguise was used in this court. Atlas considers it necessary to add explanations in the middle of this note. The cases that Mr. Raisian mentions in the previous paragraph relate to Mr. Tavakkoli's student days when he was arrested and convicted for the same charges about 15 years ago. The next point refers to the arrest of Majid Tavakkoli in December 2009. After his arrest during the Student's Day ceremony, the security forces published pictures of him wearing women's clothes (veil and coat) and claimed that he was wearing women's clothes to escape from the security forces. The government thought that broadcasting such images could reduce the sensitivities of society towards him and the student movement, but it backfired. Following the publication of these images, a campaign called "I am Majid" was launched, and hundreds of Iranian men wore scarves and women's clothes in this campaign to sympathize with Majid Tavakkoli, and people's support of him grew even more. It should be noted that many have said that these pictures are fake or that the security apparatus forced him to wear those clothes to torture him. The explanations of the Atlas ends here. According to Raisian, accusations in previous cases or untrue issues led to the verdict in the primary court and its confirmation in the appeal. Raisian concluded his article by referring to the violations that occurred in this case: > In this judicial process, phenomena such as non-observance of citizen's rights at the time of arrest (for example, summons before arrest), delay in allowing the accused to make phone calls, "Issuing an order to arrest the accused in a case where there is no legal necessity or permission, non-standard detention center, illegal search of unrelated items and many other "normalized" problems of judicial procedure have also existed. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>