Full Name:
Ali Isfahani (a.k.a. Ali Esfahani)
Background:
No information is available on his birth and education.
Positions:
- Head of Branch 18 of the Court of Appeals in Isfahan[1]
- Head of the Criminal Court in Isfahan until 10 October 2018[2]
- Prosecutor-General of Isfahan Province since 10 October 2018
- Deputy of “The Staff for the Revival of Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil” since 21 January 2019[3]
Human Rights Violations:
As Prosecutor-General of Isfahan Province, Ali Isfahani played an important role in doubling-down on restrictions and increasing police violence against women.
On May 14, 2019, Prosecutor-General Isfahani told IRNA news agency that women cycling in public places were committing an act that is haram (forbidden). He said that women who are caught by police will first be made to swear that they will no longer cycle in public and their bicycles will be returned. Isfahani then threatened that second and third-time offenders will be prosecuted according to the Islamic penal code.[4]
On May 17, musician Negar Moazzam posted a video on her personal Instagram page, depicting her solo performance of an old Iranian pop song before a small crowd in the village of Abyaneh in Isfahan province. After the video received much attention on social media, religious authority figures have called for the singer’s punishment. On May 21, Ali Isfahani announced that, although no arrests have been made, the Natanz City Attorney’s Office will legally pursue this case.[5]
[1] https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Isfahani-1.pdf
[2] https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Isfahani-2.pdf
[3] https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Isfahani-3.pdf
[4] https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Isfahani-4.pdf
[5] https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Isfahani-5.pdf
