Eye for Iran<\/a>. \u201cIf one virtue was supposed to define a person, it is his kindness.\u201d<\/p>\nA playwright and screenwriter, Afshin also helped friends write productions without receiving credit because of restrictions imposed on him, according to Ramin, who said this was his brother\u2019s third imprisonment<\/p>\n
A life interrupted<\/p>\n
His latest ordeal began after he was questioned at the school where he volunteered. Security forces came to the family home on November 11, 2025, and arrested him.<\/p>\n
Agents confiscated phones, tablets, computers, Baha\u2019\u00ed books and even Baha\u2019\u00ed pictures hanging on the walls, according to his brother.<\/p>\n
Afshin then spent 34 days in solitary confinement. For the first days after his arrest, his family did not even know where he was.<\/p>\n
Eventually, he was permitted to call his mother and tell her to prepare the deed to the family home, raising hopes that it could be used as collateral for his release.<\/p>\n
The release never came.<\/p>\n
Ramin said Afshin remained imprisoned for more than 260 days before being charged, while his mother was repeatedly sent between courts trying to find out what was happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were sending her back and forth almost every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Afshin had an opportunity to build a life outside Iran in the early 2000s and spent time in the United States, but ultimately chose to return.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe truly loves Iran and Iranians,\u201d Ramin said.<\/p>\n
The case has drawn international condemnation. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has called for his release, while the Canadian government described his treatment as an example of Iran\u2019s \u201ccontinued disregard for human rights.\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018No lawyer, no warning\u2019<\/p>\n
The ordeal has been particularly devastating for Afshin\u2019s mother, an 80-year-old cancer survivor.<\/p>\n
She can now visit her youngest son approximately once every two or three weeks, Ramin said. Afshin is also allowed to telephone her each day.<\/p>\n
Ramin said the family had been told Afshin would receive legal representation and that they would be notified before his court date.<\/p>\n
Neither happened.<\/p>\n
Instead, one of Afshin\u2019s fellow prisoners alerted his own family that Afshin had been taken to court. Afshin\u2019s mother learned what was happening while she was on her way to an oncology appointment.<\/p>\n
She rushed to the courthouse.<\/p>\n
Ramin said she waited in the hallways, trying to determine where her son was, until she suddenly heard Afshin behind her as he emerged from court.<\/p>\n
By then, the hearing was over.<\/p>\n
Afshin pleaded not guilty but had no lawyer representing him, Ramin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was basically his own lawyer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When his mother asked how he was doing, Afshin reassured her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay. Don\u2019t worry about it. We\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Ramin recalled him saying.<\/p>\n
\u2018Life sentence\u2019<\/p>\n
Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Heyratian to prison terms totaling 31 years, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.<\/p>\n
The sentences included 12 years for \u201cforming an illegal group,\u201d 11 years for \u201cpropaganda activities contrary to the sacred law of Islam,\u201d six years for \u201cassembly and collusion,\u201d and two years over allegations of \u201cobtaining illegitimate property.\u201d Financial penalties were also imposed.<\/p>\n
Under Article 134 of Iran\u2019s Islamic Penal Code, only the most severe sentence, 12 years, is expected to be enforceable.<\/p>\n
Ramin rejects the allegations against his brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things that they have attached to those charges \u2026 are, first of all, completely untrue,\u201d he said, adding that the organization where Afshin volunteered had been permitted to operate in Iran.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Baha\u2019\u00ed community has faced decades of state persecution and restrictions on education, employment and other aspects of public life. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Baha\u2019\u00ed faith as one of the country\u2019s protected religious minorities.<\/p>\n
Ramin said the length of his brother\u2019s punishment was extraordinary even by the standards of that persecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Afshin\u2019s age, this can be a life sentence,\u201d he said, adding that the family had not abandoned hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that the future of Iran is absolutely brilliant,\u201d Ramin said. \u201cWe are hoping for that to happen soon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Afshin Heyratian\u2019s days often began at 6 a.m. He would leave his home in Tehran and spend the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[34,67,63,60,61,64,58,62,59,65,49,66],"class_list":["post-266301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iran","tag-iran","tag-iran-and-china","tag-iran-covid","tag-iran-economy","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-media-iran-and-the-united-states","tag-iran-news","tag-iran-nuclear","tag-iran-politics","tag-iran-us","tag-middle-east","tag-us-sanctions"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117165289738712262","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}