An Iranian court has sentenced a medical couple to a total of 20 years in prison in connection to the alleged killing of a member of the paramilitary Basij force during protests, activists say.
The court in Karaj, near Tehran, sentenced Dr. Hamid Ghareh Hasanlou, a radiologist, to 15 years, while his wife Farzaneh, a lab technician, was handed a five-year sentence, Dadban, a network of Iranian lawyers, said on April 18.
The couple was arrested after it participated in a November 3 ceremony in Karaj marking the 40th day since the killing of a teenage protester, Hadis Najafi, by security forces.
The two prisoners have not received medical treatment despite their “worrying physical conditions.” The man has suffered serious injuries to his pelvis and lungs and sustained damage to his eyes as a result of beatings.
The case stemmed from the killing of a Basiji, identified as Ruhollah Ajamian, in Karaj on November 3. Several other people have been arrested in connection to Ajamian’s alleged killing. Two young men, Mohammad Mahdi Karmi and Mohammad Hosseini, were executed amid international condemnation.