Vida Rabbani released conditionally from prison
On 9 April 2025, woman human rights defender Vida Rabbani was conditionally released from Evin prison. Her lawyer announced that the defender was released after having served over thirty months of the five-year executable prison sentence she received in 2022. Her request for conditional release was approved under the provisional suspension of two years of her sentence by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.
On 16 August 2022, Vida Rabbani announced on her twitter account that the sentence of the Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court pertaining to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state” has been confirmed in the court of appeals. The instances mentioned for these charges include reporting on human rights violations and social media activities.
On 29 June 2022, woman human rights defender, Vida (Vahideh) Rabbani was informed that Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced her to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state.” The instances mentioned for these charges include reporting on human rights violations and social media activities.
Vida (Vahideh) Rabbani is a woman human rights defender, social activist, journalist and a member of the Tehran Journalists Association. She graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Tehran and as a journalist she has worked for the promotion of socio-political rights especially in the context of freedom of peaceful assembly free elections, opposition to the death penalty and compulsory hijab in Iran.
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- 17 April 2025 : Vida Rabbani released conditionally from prison
- 31 December 2022 : Vida Rabbani sentenced to seven years and three months in prison
- 19 August 2022 : The sentence of Vida Rabbani confirmed in the court of appeals
- 6 July 2022 : Sentencing of woman human rights defender Vida Rabbani
On 9 April 2025, woman human rights defender Vida Rabbani was conditionally released from Evin prison. Her lawyer announced that the defender was released after having served over thirty months of the five-year executable prison sentence she received in 2022. Her request for conditional release was approved under the provisional suspension of two years of her sentence by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.
On 31 December 2022, Vida Rabbani was sentenced to an additional seven years and three months in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court: six years on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security", and fifteen months on the charge of “propaganda against the state.” This case was closed after the woman human rights defender appealed and was found eligible for general amnesty in April 2023. This pardon was introduced in February 2023 by the Iranian judiciary on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and allowed for national security charges related to “woman, life, freedom” protests to be pardoned.
Previously, on 29 June 2022, the woman human rights defender was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state.” Following the application of article 134 of Islamic Penal code, only the most severe single sentence of 5 years was executable. The instances mentioned for incurring these charges included reporting on human rights violations, mainly via social media channels. This sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals in August 2022. The verdict issued by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court suspended two years of the five year-sentence, the applicable part of her sentences under article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, on the condition that the woman human rights defender announces any change of address or profession to the judiciary body overseeing the verdict.
On 31 December 2022, the woman human rights defender Vida Rabbani was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. The woman human rights defender was sentenced to six years in prison on the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security" and 15 months in prison on the charge of “propaganda against state.” The lawyer of the woman human rights defender has appealed this sentence.
If this sentence is confirmed at the court of appeal, after the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the woman human rights defender should serve six years in prison for her social media and journalistic activities. She was arrested following a house raid on 24 September 2022, in the context of the protests ongoing in Iran.
On 16 August 2022, Vida Rabbani announced on her twitter account that the sentence of the Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court pertaining to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state” has been confirmed in the court of appeals. The instances mentioned for these charges include reporting on human rights violations and social media activities.
The sentence issued by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court has been reduced to three years, on condition that the human rights defender acquires permission from the country’s Implementation of Verdicts Department before travelling outside Iran, practising any professional activities related to the above charges including in social media or attending political meetings, and announcing any change of address of residence and profession to the judiciary body overseeing the verdict.
On 29 June 2022, woman human rights defender, Vida (Vahideh) Rabbani was informed that Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced her to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state.” The instances mentioned for these charges include reporting on human rights violations and social media activities.
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Vida (Vahideh) Rabbani is a woman human rights defender, social activist, journalist and a member of the Tehran Journalists Association. She graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Tehran and as a journalist she has worked for the promotion of socio-political rights especially in the context of freedom of peaceful assembly free elections, opposition to the death penalty and compulsory hijab in Iran.
On 29 June 2022, the woman human rights defender, Vida Rabbani was informed that Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced her to five years imprisonment on the charge of “insulting the sacred,” four years imprisonment on the charge of “gathering and colluding to act against national security,” and one year imprisonment on the charge of “propaganda activities against the state.” Under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the sentence of five years in prison is the most severe available. The verdict issued by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court has suspended two years of the five years sentence, on condition that the human rights defender acquires permission from the Department of Implementation of the Sentence before travelling outside Iran; practising any relevant professional activities relevant to the above charges including in social media or attending political meetings; and announcing any change of address of residence and profession to the judiciary body overseeing the verdict.
In November 2019, the woman human rights defender was arrested for protesting against the killing of people protesting against the sudden increase of petrol prices that same month. During interrogations she was questioned in regard to inviting people to gather to protest. She was also questioned about a report she wrote on the protests after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) admitted shooting down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in January 2020, killing all 176 civilians on board. She was released on the same day. Almost a year later, in December 2020, she was arrested again by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence Services and was detained for a month while being interrogated in solitary confinement.
Front Line Defenders expresses grave concerns about the sentencing of woman human rights defender Vida Rabbani and believes she is being targeted as a result of her legitimate civil society activities and peaceful human rights work in defence of the right to freedom of assembly, free elections and women’s rights in Iran.
