CNA Staff, Apr 23, 2020 / 12:30 pm
Iran has sentenced a 21 year-old Christian woman to prison and lashing for "disturbing public order," after she protested the destruction of a passenger jet by the military.
Mary (Fatemeh) Mohammadi, a 21 year-old Iranian convert to Christianity, was arrested on Jan. 12 after taking part in anti-government protests that followed the shooting down of a passenger jet, Ukrainian Air Flight 752, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG). Iran announced several days after the incident that the IRG mistakenly shot the plane down, resulting in the deaths of all 176 people on board the flight.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Mohammadi said her sentence of three months and one day in prison is suspended for one year. She was also sentenced to 10 lashes.
Mohammadi said she has been tortured in prison and suffered "terrible conditions" for "protesting against the slaughter of human beings." She said she did not appeal her sentence "because the appeal courts have turned into affirmative tribunals."