The testimony of 41 political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin: Sattar Beheshti had been tortured

HRANA News Agency – According to reports published by media outlets, Sattar Beheshti was arrested by the cyber police, a subsidiary of the nation’s security forces on October 30th 2012. On November 6th, Mr Beheshti’s family was reportedly informed of his passing, requesting that his body be collected at the Kahrizak morgue. All along, the family was threatened not to speak to anyone regarding this matter.

Give that Mr. Sattar Beheshti was at Evin’s general ward 350 from October 31st 2012 to November 1st 2012 and the detainees at this ward had therefore witnessed his painful physical and psychological condition first hand, we view it our national and religious duty to inform the honorable Iranian nation of Mr. Beheshti’s background and predicament.

Sattar Beheshti was charged as a result of his criticism of the authorities of the ruling establishment in his personal blog.  He told eye witnesses at Evin’s ward 350 that while in custody at the police headquarters, he had first been severely beaten while hanging from the ceiling and later beaten further while tied to a chair. Sometimes  he was beaten while his hands were tied and at other times he was pushed to the ground and kicked severely in the area of the head and neck by interrogators wearing army boots.  While being tortured, Beheshti was reportedly subjected to the most vulgar curses attacking his honor and his interrogators repeatedly threatened to kill him.

When arriving at Evin’s ward 350, evidence of torture was apparent throughout Sattar’s body and he was in a painful physical and psychological state. His face was scarred, his head was swollen, his wrists and arms were bruised and the effects of hanging from the ceiling were apparent on his wrists.  Bruises were also apparent on other parts of his body such as around his neck, his stomach and his back.

Despite the fact that he was barely able to write as a result of his beatings, Sattar nevertheless filed a short complaint to the authorities of Evin’s ward 350, describing his condition and the manner in which he had been treated at the hands of the security agents, demanding that they follow up on his case.

Given that his physical condition was far from normal, Sattar was taken to the prison infirmary on two occasions where the physician at the infirmary was also able to witness his condition first hand.

On November 1st, 2011, Sattar a young and true activist of the Green Movement was once again transferred from Evin’s ward 350 to the security police headquarters. He was extremely concerned when leaving the ward and told other detainees: “They intend to kill me.”  Four days after his transfer, his family was informed of his death.

Those who claim to be the followers of Imam Ali must be reminded of his response to the news of a Jewish women’s torture under his reign, her legs bruised, when he stated: ” If a victim dies, they are not to blame.”

They witness the cruelty, injustices, atrocities, torture and murder and remain indifferent, without losing even a night’s sleep. In recent years and following the 2009 presidential elections we have repeatedly witnessed this type of torture of detainees at the hands of the security and cyber police. There are individuals currently at Evin’s ward 350 who have personally been subjected to such torture.  We hereby testify that we have witnessed the existence of numerous cases of torture of detainees at the hands of the agents of the security police at Evin’s ward 350.

We believe that if the criminals at Kahrizak prison and the torturers at Evin prison whose accounts of torture have been repeatedly published and are known to the authorities of the ruling establishment, would be punished rather than encouraged and promoted,  such heinous Kahrizak style tortures and cases of murder would no longer be repeated.

It has now been proven to all of us that when it comes to the current ruling establishment our cries will only fall on deaf ears.  While offering our condolences to the family of the late Sattar Beheshti and the oppressed Iranian nation, we remind everyone that the current ruling establishment, whether they like it or not, are responsible for the cruelty, torture and unjust bloodshed of innocent victims.

Signatories:

Mohammad Ebrahimi

Hossein Asadi Zeidabadi

Amir Eslami

Reza Ansari Rad

Ibrahim (Nader) Babai Zeydi

Emaad Bahavar

Seyed Ali Reza Beheshti Shirazi

Amid Behroozi

Amin Chalaki

Siyavash Hatem

Omid Kharazmiyan

Mehdi Khodaii

Mohammad Davari

Amir Khosro Dalirsani

Seyed Mohammad Ali Dadkhah

Ali Reza Rajaii

Mohammad Rezaii

Farzad Rouhi

Hossein Zarini

Abdolfatah Soltani

Adris Seyedin

Pouriya Shahpari

Mohsen (Bahman) Sadeghi Nour

Mohammad Farid Taheri Ghazvini

Bahador Alizadeh

Afshin Karampour

Hamid Reza Karvasi

Amir Garshasbi

Jafar Ganji

Siyamak Ghaderi

Abolfazl Ghadyani

Ali Akbar Ghoti

Farshi Lahouti

Abdollah Momeni

Mohsen Mirdamadi

Mostafa Nili

Mohammad Ali Velayati

Farshid Yadollahi

Mohammad Hassan Youssef Pourseyfi

Mohammad Amin Hadavi

Seyed Ahmad Hashemi

Amnesty – Iran: Brother of prominent filmmaker arrested

http://en-hrana.org/images/1350821572.jpgAMNESTY URGENT ACTION

Behrouz Ghobadi, brother of internationally acclaimed Iranian film maker, Bahman Ghobadi, was arrested on 4 November 2012 by men in plain clothes, believed to belong to the Ministry of Intelligence. He is reportedly being held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre, placing him at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Behrouz Ghobadi, father of a newborn baby boy and a member of the Kurdish minority in Iran, was arrested in the early hours of the morning of 4 November. He was in a taxi driving from Sanandaj, the capital of the north-western Kordestan province, to a Tehran airport. Plain-clothes men, who were reportedly following him, stopped his car and arrested him around 15 kilometres outside Sanandaj. Judicial officials claim that they had an arrest warrant but the reasons for his arrest do not appear to have been disclosed to his family or lawyer.

link story

http://amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/069/2012/en/f6f53cbf-b29e-4daa-b0bb-dae60ceb7819/mde130692012en.html

LETTER

Object: Brother of prominent filmmaker arrested

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you as supporter of Amnesty International, the non governmental organization which since 1961 has been working in defense of human rights, wherever they are violated.

I call on you to ensure that Behrouz Ghobadi is protected from torture and other ill- treatment and is granted adequate medical treatment.

I urge you to allow Behrouz Ghobadi immediate and regular visits from his family and a lawyer of his own choosing.

I stress that if Behrouz Ghobadi has been arrested solely in connection with his or his brother’s film-making activities, he is a prisoner of conscience and must be immediately and unconditionally released.

Thank you for your attention.

(your name)

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 8 DECEMBER 2012 TO:

Address:

Salutation: Your Excellency

Leader of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: “#Iran leader @khamenei_ir

Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani

[care of] Public relations Office

Number 4, 2 Azizi Street

Vali Asr Ave, above Pasteur Street intersection

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: [email protected] (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) or [email protected]

And copies to:

Salutation: Your Excellency

Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights

Mohammad Javad Larijani

High Council for Human Rights

[Care of] Office of the Head of the Judiciary, Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave. south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737,

Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: [email protected]

(subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

IRAN (Repubblica Islamica dell’)

Via Nomentana, 361/363 – 00162 Roma

Tel. 0686328485-6-7 – Fax 0686328492

E-mail: [email protected]

Role of Cyber Police in Blogger’s Death is Obvious

HRANA News Agency – The head of Iran’s Security Forces says police may be guilty of “some level of neglect” in the arrest of Sattar Beheshti but he denied there was any motive to murder the detained blogger, who died in custody earlier this month.

Continue reading “Role of Cyber Police in Blogger’s Death is Obvious”

European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations

HRANA News Agency – The Iranian blogger Sattar Behesht was arrested and tortured to death by Iran’s cyber-police known also as Fata. Sattar Behesht had been accused that he was acting against the national security. The European Parliament published yesterday a new resolution on human rights situation in Iran.

Continue reading “European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations”

Zahra Mansouri, Prisoner in grave danger for lack of medicine

HRANA News Agency – Zahra Mansouri who is suffering from epilepsy and has to regularly take her medicine and live in a stress free environment, is in grave danger in Evin prison for lack of medicine.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Mansouri who is more than 60 years old, was arrested by security forces on June 1, 2011 and was detained for 90 days in a solitary cell in Section 209 in Evin Prison and was released on bail on August 19, 201, was called and detained to serve her two years of prison in Evin, recently.
She is the sister of political prisoner Mohammad-Ali Mansouri and always been under pressure for this reason.

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U.N. experts ask Iran to explain blogger’s death in jail

GENEVA  – U.N. human rights experts called on Iran on Thursday to say how Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti died in police custody.

In a case that sparked international outrage, Beheshti who wrote a blog critical of the government, was arrested on October 30 and died some days later after saying he had received death threats and was being tortured in jail.

“It is imperative that people who are potentially involved in committing such gruesome crimes are investigated and brought to justice, as failure to do so promotes a culture of impunity,” said Ahmed Shaheed, special U.N. rapporteur on human rights in Iran.

Shaheed and other U.N. experts welcomed Iran’s decision to investigate the 35-year-old’s death and said the findings should be made public.

“On 6 November, prison authorities contacted family members of Mr. Beheshti to collect his body. Although the circumstances around his death remain unclear, allegations suggest he might have been tortured to death during his investigation,” they said in a joint statement issued in Geneva.

Christof Heyns, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions said whenever someone dies as a result of injuries sustained while in custody, “there is a presumption of state responsibility.”

The experts, who report to the U.N. Human Rights Council said there had been several cases reported of detainees dying in custody due to mistreatment or torture, lack of medical attention or neglect.

They called on Iran to release journalists and bloggers jailed in violation of a U.N. treaty on civil and political rights.

Iranian authorities have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in Beheshti’s death, a lawmaker said on Wednesday. The suspects’ identities have not been disclosed.

The Beheshti case has renewed international concerns about human rights in Iran. In October, the European Parliament awarded its human rights prize to Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer who, opposition websites report, is on hunger strike in prison.

-Reuters

No information about the detained student, Mohsen Ghashghai Zadeh

HRANA News Agency – There is no information about the situation of Mohsen Ghashghai Zadeh, detained student in the “Saraye Ghalam” session, after 13 days.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), after 13 days from when security forces attacked the memorial session of Farahnaz Dargahi, Arash Sadeghi’s mother in “Saraye Ghalam” on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 and arrested several activists, the family of Mohsen Ghashghai Zadeh has no information about the situation, place and charges of their son.
Continue reading “No information about the detained student, Mohsen Ghashghai Zadeh”

HRW – Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death

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HRANA News Agency – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities should investigate the death of a 35-year-old blogger in custody and immediately provide his family with information about the circumstances of his death. Initial reports suggest that he may have died from ill-treatment or torture.

Continue reading “HRW – Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death”

Mostafa Badkoobei began to serve his 18 months imprisonment in Evin

HRANA News Agency – Mostafa Badkoobei, Writer and Poet, began serving his verdict in Evein prison from yesterday.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Mostafa Badkoobei, Writer and Poet, who was arrested in 2010 and 2011 08 Jul 2012: Sentenced to 3 years prison, 5 years ban on public attendance and 3 million rials fine by judge Salavati in 15th branch of Tehran’s revolutionary court.
Continue reading “Mostafa Badkoobei began to serve his 18 months imprisonment in Evin”