10-Year Jail Term For Head Of Freedom Movement Youth Wing Emad Bahavar

Young political activist and member of the youth division of the Freedom Movement of Iran, Emad Bahavar, has been sentenced to ten years in prison following a ruling by Judge Salavati, head of branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court.

According to Green Movement website Kaleme, Bahavar was convicted of “assembly and collusion to act against national security,” “propagating against the regime” and “insulting the leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the 2009 presidential election, Bahavar had been a member of the “Third Wave” campaign in support of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. He is also the head of the Youth Wing of the Freedom Movement of Iran (Nehzate Azadi), one of the oldest political parties in the country.

Bahavar was initially arrested on 28 May 2009 on the grounds that he had propagated against the establishment, but was then released after 96 hours. He was detained again after Election Day and was set free after enduring 46 days of solitary confinement. However, this was not the end of Bahavar’s ordeals, as he was detained once more on 7 March 2010, after appearing in court to defend himself.

The young political activist is a graduate student in political science, but was unable to continue his studies due to his political activities and was barred from pursuing his education following his release from prison.

He is currently being held in ward 350 of Iran’s notorious Evin prison.