The Fourth Branch of the Kurdistan Court of Appeals has sentenced Jina Modares Gorji, a journalist and women’s rights activist, to two years and four months in prison.
The Fourth Branch of the Kurdistan Court of Appeals sentenced Jina Modares Gorji to 16 months in prison for “forming and managing an illegal group” and to one year in prison for “propaganda against the regime.” With the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a total of one year and four months of the issued prison sentence will be enforceable.
Previously, the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj had sentenced Jina Modares Gorji to a total of 21 years in prison and exile. In the first trial, she was sentenced to 10 years for “forming an illegal group with the aim of overthrowing the regime,” 10 years for “collaboration with hostile groups and governments,” and one year for “propaganda against the regime.” The court also sentenced this journalist to exile in Hamadan.
The Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj also determined that the charge of “spreading falsehoods and inciting people to violent actions” fell under the jurisdiction of the criminal court and forwarded the case to the Sanandaj Criminal Court II.
Jina Modares Gorji, who has previously contributed to newspapers such as Etemad and Shahrvand, as well as Kurdish publications, was first arrested on September 21, 2022, amid the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in the streets of Sanandaj, with the use of force. She was released after 42 days of temporary detention on a bail of 100 million tomans; however, this amount was later increased to one billion tomans after new charges were brought against her.
Jina Modares Gorji was arrested again on April 10, 2023, by security forces. She spent approximately one month in solitary confinement and was ultimately released after enduring 84 days of temporary detention by posting a bail of five billion tomans.