Shakila Monfared, an Iranian activist advocating for monarchy in Iran, has been sentenced to seven years and seven months in prison as well as 10 lashes, according to the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC), a human rights organization.
The information was released in a Sept. 2 post on X (formerly Twitter) by the center, which added that the update had been provided by Monfared’s defense lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani.
According to the post, Monfared’s sentencing includes six years and seven months for “destruction of public property” and one year including lashes for “disturbing public order and tranquility.”
“This follows a new case initiated by Tehran’s assistant prosecutor, Masoumeh Shaghaghi,” the post said. “The case against Monfared raises significant due process concerns, highlighted by her arrest during a medical leave extension after undergoing an endoscopy.”
According to the post on X, Monfared also disclosed incidents of maltreatment to the Voice of America Farsi news agency. She said the abuse took place at the prosecutor’s office and included verbal and physical assaults.
“Shakila’s sentence is connected to the current challenges that the Iranian government is facing with regard to the increasing number of citizens rejecting its legitimacy and calling for a different political system and openly challenging the state,” said Roya Boroumand, a human rights campaigner and cofounder of ABC, in an interview with Kayhan Life. “Anyone who questions the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic in any form is harshly punished. Calling for the monarchy is among these open challenges.”
Iran’s population has become increasingly dissatisfied with the government following decades of economic mismanagement and government corruption, which along with international sanctions have crippled the country’s economy.
Anti-government protests in Iran erupted in September 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for breaching the state’s forced hijab law and who died while in police custody. The demonstrations launched the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement which advocates for gender equality in Iran.
Monfared was arrested on June 26 and sent back to Tehran’s Evin Prison after attending a hearing at the District 8 Prosecutor’s Office. The hearing had been scheduled to ask for an extension of her medical furlough for ongoing medical treatment.
This month’s sentence follows a history of arrests and imprisonment for Monfared, who was first detained in 2020, allegedly for her activity on social media. Monfared was then convicted in January 2021 for “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “propaganda against the state.” She was sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison.
That sentence was reduced from 60 months to 50 months on appeal in March 2021, and she was sent to prison to serve the lesser sentence.
While in prison that year, Monfared was allegedly severely beaten by prisoners after being prompted by prison officials.
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In February 2022, Monfared was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on a new set of charges including “membership to an anti-regime group and spreading lies.”
“The state has always reacted pretty harshly to organized activities because it wants to deter citizens from organizing to claim their rights, from organizing to the fact that there is a monarch or other form of leadership that exists,” Boroumand said. “It means that people like Shakila are unfairly imprisoned and punished for expressing their views, because that’s what they have done. Many are silenced by imprisonment or other punishments, and some like Shakila rebel.”
Monfared went on to carry out her first hunger strike in March 2022, in protest of political prisoners and violent offenders being housed in the same ward.
The practice by prison staff of placing prisoners of conscience in the same wards as prisoners convicted of violent crimes has been documented by human rights groups in recent years. A 2017 report by the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran found that prison staff had targeted political prisoners they did not like and urged other prisoners to attack them. The report also documented incidents where attackers had taken hallucinogenic drugs and had used brass knuckles and knives to hurt political prisoners.
Other female prisoners advocating for monarchy in Iran have been targeted by prison staff. Zohreh Sarv who was very active on social media prior to her arrest was sentenced to six years in prison in 2021, for “gathering, colluding and propaganda against the system.”
Following a hunger strike in Evin Prison which began in November 2023, Sarv then tried to take her own life by swallowing 30 anxiolytic pills, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Sarv’s family told the agency that her decision to overdose was due to distress she suffered after experiencing pressures and threats from prison staff. Sarv was taken to hospital and returned to prison several hours later.
Iran’s government has been consistently criticized by the United Nations and international human rights bodies for its oppression and suppression of minority political, ethnic and religious groups as well as its ongoing violence against women and children.
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