RAHANA - The second trial for Amirkabir University student Mohammad Yousef Rashidi was held yesterday at branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court with presiding judge Pir-Abassi.
According to the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), during the hearing, Rashidi was charged with “propaganda against the government through ties with enemy groups (I.e. the MKO)” and “participation in illegal gatherings.” Rashidi denied the charges and repeated the statements he has made throughout the investigation and interrogation process.
Maryam Darayi and Amir Salar Davoodi, Rashidi’s two attorneys, defended the charge linked to the Mujahedin Khalgh Organization (MKO) and pointed out the lack of evidence to support the charge.
As to the charge related to participation in illegal gatherings, the lawyers, based on their client’s statements during his investigation, argued that since Qods Day and the November 4th rallies were both legal events held annually, their client did not act illegally by participating, and therefore his participation does not constitute as sufficient grounds for the charge.
Judge Pir-Abassi referred to the presence of the accused in a March 2009 rally at Amirkabir University in protest to the burial of the Iran-Iraq war victims on the university grounds. Pir-Abbasi stated that the defendant continues with his past activities, thus it does not seem Rashidi has been punished enough.
In his own defense, Rashidi said, “[My] presence in student gatherings is a matter that should be addressed by the university. I have already been suspended from the university for four semesters and detained for 108 days as a result of my presence in the gatherings and my student activities.”
The court session only lasted 30 minutes. It ended after the defense arguments. The maximum punishment under penal law for “propaganda activities against the Islamic regime” is one year in prison.
Mohammad Yousef Rashidi was arrested at his parents’ home in Noshahr (a port city in the province of Mazandaran in northern Iran) on November 27, 2009 under a warrant issued by the city’s Revolutionary Prosecutor. The student activist was first moved to the Ministry of Intelligence main detention centre in Sari, Mazandaran, before his transfer to Tehran’s Evin prison.
On March 15, 2010, Rashidi was released on $50,000 bail.
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