Breathing in Confinement

Court of Appeals sentences Zahra Mohammadi to 5 years in prison

14-February-2021

Category: Prisoners، Women

Breathing in Confinement: Court of Appeals sentenced Zahra Mohammadi, a Kurdish language teacher and head of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association in Kurdistan, to five years in prison.

According to Hengaw Human Rights Organization, on Saturday, February 13, 2021, the sentence of 10 years imprisonment for Zahra Mohammadi, was reduced to 5 years by the Court of Appeals in Kurdistan Province.

An informed source said that in October this year, Zahra Mohammadi’s hearing was held in Branch 4 of the court of appeals, presided over by Judge Mostafa Tayyari and that her sentence was officially announced to her a few days ago.

Zahra Mohammadi, along with three members of the Nozhin Socio-Cultural Association, was arrested on Thursday, May 23, 2019, in a raid on their homes by security forces in Sanandaj. The other two detainees were released on bail four days after their arrest and later acquitted in court. Zahra Mohammadi however, remained in custody for about six months and was finally released on bail of 700 million Toman on December 2, 2019.

Branch 1 of Sanandaj Revolutionary Court had sentenced Zahra Mohammadi to ten years in prison on charges of “forming a group against national security.” She was notified of her sentence via a text message on July 12, 2020. On appeal, however, the sentence was reduced to five years in prison.

Over the last 10 years, the civil activist Zahra Mohammadi has been voluntarily teaching the Kurdish language in Sanandaj and the surrounding villages.

Zahra Mohammadi, 28, originally from Sarvala Dehgolan village, lives in Sanandaj. She holds a master’s degree in geopolitics from Birjand University.