Soheila Motaei, a civil activist from Dehgolan, has been summoned to Branch 102 of the Second Criminal Court of this city on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
According to Kolbarnews, Soheila Motaei received an official summons issued on May 11, 2025, requiring her to appear in court on May 24 to present her final defense. The charge against her is “propaganda in favor of groups or organizations opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Previously, on March 17, 2025, Motaei was temporarily released from prison on bail of one billion tomans.
She was arrested on Monday, March 10, 2025, by security forces in Sanandaj during an International Women’s Day commemoration event. She was then held and interrogated in one of the city’s security detention centers.
Motaei had also been arrested earlier on January 23, 2025, by Dehgolan security forces for participating in a general strike in Kurdistan cities protesting death penalty rulings.
She is among those detained during the nationwide protests and was previously sentenced by Dehgolan’s criminal court to 3 years and 9 months in prison. If upheld on appeal, and based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the most severe sentence 18 months of imprisonment will be enforced.
According to the ruling from Branch 2 of Dehgolan’s Criminal Court, she was sentenced as follows: 18 months for “disturbing public order,” 13 months for “spreading false information to agitate public opinion,” 5 months for “disobeying law enforcement,” and 9 months for “propaganda in support of hostile groups and organizations.”
If the appeal court confirms the verdict, only the harshest sentence 18 months will be implemented under the law.
Previously, on October 1, 2022, Motaei was arrested by security forces in Dehgolan during nationwide protests and was temporarily released on October 17 after posting bail of 400 million tomans.
