According to information received by Hana, Rahim Shilani and Azad Rasulifard, two citizens from Bukan, have been sentenced, in a case related to Starlink satellite equipment, to a combined total of four years of Ta’zir Imprisonment.
Branch Two of Bukan Criminal Court sentenced each of the two citizens to two years of Ta’zir Imprisonment on the charge of “buying and selling Starlink equipment.”
Rahim Shilani, born in 1975, and Azad Rasulifard, born in 1980, had been detained by security forces in Bukan on January 30, 2026. According to information obtained by Hana, the agents did not present a judicial warrant at the time of arrest. After 52 days held in a security detention facility, they were transferred to Bukan Prison, and in mid April 2026, after nearly three months in detention, each was temporarily released on posting bail of three billion tomans.
According to reports received, these two citizens were denied access to legal counsel and family visits for the greater part of their detention. Hana has also received reports concerning the exertion of pressure and physical torture against them during interrogation.
Hana emphasizes that, in any criminal proceeding, evidence against a defendant must be obtained through lawful and legitimate means. A confession, information, or any evidence obtained through torture, coercion, or pressure lacks the validity required to serve as a basis for a criminal conviction. This rule is not only among the fundamental guarantees of a fair trial, but the prohibition of torture and the invalidity of confessions obtained through it are also recognized under the Islamic Republic’s own domestic law.
From this standpoint, the reports concerning torture, the prolonged denial of legal counsel, and the manner of the arrest of Rahim Shilani and Azad Rasulifard render the validity of the evidence relied upon in the case, and consequently the legal basis for their conviction, entirely devoid of legitimacy.