Originally condemned to a 15-year prison term for her alleged association with the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK) by the notorious judge Abolqasem Salavati, her sentence was unexpectedly extended by two more years. This extension came alongside a fine of 150 million rials, levied by Branch 101 of the Semnan Criminal Court in a ruling in absentia.
For 14 long years, Akbari has languished behind bars, with the regime denying her even a single day of furlough for medical care, as noted in a statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on August 27, 2022.
The Akbari family has faced immeasurable torment at the hands of the Khamenei regime. Maryam’s two brothers, Alireza and Gholamreza Akbari, were brutally executed in 1981 and 1985, respectively. The pain of their loss was compounded when her sister, Roqieh, and another brother, Abdolreza, were killed in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Continuing its persecution, the regime slapped Akbari with additional charges in 2016, targeting her for seeking justice over the deaths of her siblings. By 2020, she found herself exiled to the Semnan Prison. The Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) has subsequently initiated two fresh cases against her, accusing her of a litany of charges including “propaganda against the regime” and “inciting people against national security.”
Iran political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared put under pressure
Disturbingly, on August 24, 2022, a confrontation arose when the deputy warden of Semnan Prison sought to prevent Akbari from seeing her daughter, using the flimsy justification of her not wearing a veil. After being physically assaulted, Akbari was charged with causing unrest and disrupting prison order, following her family’s vehement protests.
It is evident that these allegations and obstructions are tactics by the regime to keep Akbari imprisoned indefinitely. The Iranian Resistance is thus urgently appealing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and all advocates of human rights to decry these violations by the mullahs’ regime and work resolutely for Maryam Akbari’s immediate release.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
