Author: Sara

Identity of Leila Tajik’s co-Defendant Confirmed

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners
death penality in iran, Death Penalty, death row prisoners, iran death penalty, Leila Tajik, prisoners in iran tortured, Seyed Jamal Hajizavar, torture

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- HRANA has identified Leila Tajik’s co-defendant and former spouse — sentenced to death on espionage charges, per a HRANA report dated October 11, 2018 — as Seyed Jamal Hajizavar, 47, a former staff member on the IRGC Aerospace Force.

In the same report, HRANA reported on Tajik’s sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment in exile for the same charges, ruled in Branch 4 of Tehran Military Court.

Pursuant to a joint case opened up against the two by the IRGC intelligence unit, the former couple was arrested September 5, 2017, and held in an IGRC outpost. Tajik was later transferred to the Evin Prison Women’s Ward on March 19, 2018.

Over the course of his 14-month detainment, reports of Hajizavar’s violent torture — including de-nailing and electric shock in so-called “death cells”– have been conspicuously absent from the state-run news media.

An informed source previously told HRANA, “their children, Sabah, 16, and Sahand, 19, are hurting over the breakup of their family, and are feeling additional pressures from IRGC agents.”

Reporter Vahid Ahang Released on Bail

Posted on by Sara
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of press, imprisoned journalists, iranian journalists, jailed journalists, persecuted journalists, Vahid Ahang

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – Vahid Ahang, a reporter jailed pursuant to a complaint filed by the Dishmok municipality, has been released after posting a bail of 50 million tomans [approximately $3,000 USD].

An informed source told HRANA that Ahang was arrested on October 31st and interrogated the same day from eight in the morning until noon. Judge Javad Parhizgar and his secretary were reportedly hostile towards him, refusing to accept Ahang’s bail even after the Dishmok mayor and county governor came forward to withdraw the complaint. Parhizgar was reportedly worn down by several follow-ups from Ahang’s family, the source said.

Ahang’s byline precedes previous reports of mistreatment from visitors to Judge Parhizgar’s office.

Urmia Authorities Turn Deaf Ear to Prisoner Fighting Infection

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners
medical neglect, Prisoner abuse, Sadroldin Teymourpour, Urmia prison

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- “What do you need an ear for?”, the Urmia Prison director said to Sadroldin Teymourpour, a prisoner complaining of an ear infection secondary to an assault by security agents.

Needless to say, Teymourpour’s request to be transferred to a hospital was not taken seriously.

Initially sentenced to death, Teymourpour is currently serving a commuted sentence of 30 years plus a 200-million toman [approximately $13,500 USD] fine.

Forcing ailing prisoners to make do with the short-staffed, underequipped prison clinic has led to multiple prisoner deaths. HRANA reported on a number of these fatal neglect cases in September 2018.

Municipal Grievance Lands Urban Reporter Vahid Ahang in Prison

Posted on by Sara
Freedom of Expression
Dehdasht, Detained journalist, Imprisoned journalist, iranian journalists, jailed journalists, Vahid Ahang

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- Pursuant to a complaint lodged by the Municipality of Dishmok, city-life beat reporter Vahid Ahang was arrested on October 31, 2018, by security agents and transferred to Dehdasht prison.

Ahang reportedly covers municipal business from a critical angle. According to an informed source, his recent arrest has roots in an accusation leveled against him back in 2013 of insulting, slandering, and threatening municipal workers.

Cases involving alleged defamation by reporters are typically processed in Media Court before being transferred to a local court with appropriate jurisdiction. It is not yet clear why Ahang’s case was expedited directly to Dishmok Court.

Dishmok and Dehdasht are counties in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

Journalist Masoud Kazemi Arrested

Posted on by Sara
Freedom of Expression
Detained journalist, freedom of expression, Freedom of press, Freedom of Speech, Imprisoned journalist, imprisoned journalists, Masoud Kazemi

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – On the morning of November 5th, Masoud Kazemi, journalist and editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine “Sedaye Parsi,” was arrested in his home by security forces and transferred to an undisclosed location.

Upon inspecting his home at the time of the arrest, agents confiscated some of Kazemi’s personal belongings, including laptops, hard drives, and USB drives.

Close source Shima Tadrisi confirmed the news of Kazemi’s arrest in a short note, writing, “His neighbors said that some people entered his home and then took Masoud away with them.” It was not clear to the neighbors which agency had sent them, she said.

Kazemi tweeted the day before his arrest about corruption in the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade. As of the date of this report, no further information was available on his location or the reasons behind his arrest.

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Update on Arrested Shirazi Baha’is

Posted on by Sara
Religious Minorities
Baha'i, baha'i arrests iran, baha'i in iran, baha'is in iran, Bahareh Ghaderi, Ehsan Mahboob Rahvafa, Elaheh Samizadeh, Niloufar Hakimi, Noora Pourmoradian, Nora Pourmoradian, Noura Pourmoradian, Shiraz, Soudabeh Haghighat

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – Baha’i citizen Bahareh Ghaderi, who was arrested September 15th, was released Saturday, November 3rd on a bail of 200 million tomans [approximately $13,500 USD] pending completion of her investigation.

On October 18th, Niloufar Hakimi and Ehsan Mahboob Rahvafa also went free on bail. Their fellow Baha’is Nora Pourmoradian, Soudabeh Haghighat, and Elaheh Samizadeh were released October 10th.

Two Baha’i prisoners remain in the custody of Shiraz Intelligence Ministry detention center No. 100.

Shiraz, the capital of Fars province located 425 miles south of Tehran, is the birthplace of Ba’b, who formulated the Baha’i religion there in the 19th century. It is home to one of the largest Baha’i communities in Iran.

Iranian Baha’i citizens are systematically deprived of religious freedoms, while according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone is entitled to freedom of religion and belief, and the right to adopt and manifest the religion of their choice, be it individually, in groups, in public, or in private.

Based on unofficial sources, more than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran. Iran’s constitution, however, recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, and does not acknowledge the Baha’i faith as an official religion. Consequently, the rights of Baha’is are systematically violated in Iran.

Verdict Bulletin on 202 Gonabadi Dervishes

Posted on by Sara
Freedom of Expression, Religious Minorities
Abbas Amani Ali Abadi, Abbas Beraghmadi, Abbas Dehghan, Abbas Ghiasi, Abbas Valinia, Abdollah Esmaeili, Abdolsamad Kashefi, Abolfazl Avazeh, Abolfazl Babahosseini, Abolfazl Sahraei, Abolfazl Salari, Abolghasem Nasiri Bafghi, Afshin Salimi Chegini, Aghabak Zamanipour, Ahmad Barakouhi, Ahmad Daraei, Ahmad Iranikhah, Ahmad Nabaei, Ahmadreza Talebi, Akbar Beiranvand, Akbar Dadashi, Alborz Eskandari Sabzi, Alborz Rostami, Ali Abidavi, Ali Afshar Asli, Ali Afshari, Ali Akbar Ataei, Ali Asghar Aramiyon, Ali Asghar Farrokhi, Ali Asghar Salari, Ali Asghar Shariat, Ali Asghar Yekkeh Shenas, Ali Bahadori, Ali Barian, Ali Bolboli, Ali Ghamari, Ali Ghannadzadeh, Ali Jamshidi, Ali Kandi, Ali Karami, Ali Karimi, Ali Mashallah Vafaei Fard, Ali Mazyar, Ali Mohammad Shahi, Ali Nashtoor, Ali Nezhad Sahebi, Ali Rashno, Ali Reza Siasi, Ali Sadeghi, Ali Soltani Azad, Ali Suri, Ali Vafaei, Alireza Azadravesh, Alireza Ghasemi, Alireza Jahedi Darvish, Alireza Lak, Alireza Sayyah, Alireza Shakouri, Amin Hosseini, Amin Hosseinpour, Amin Sarrafi, Amin Soleymani, Amir Astaraki, Amir Bahador Jafari, Amir Bahador Seifi, Amir Hossein Shaaban, Amir Labbaf, Amir Mousavian, Amir Nouri, Amir Ramezani Sheshdeh, Amir Salimi Chegini, Amir Seyedi, Arash Moradi, Ardeshir Ashayeri, Arman Abolfathi, Armin Abolfathi, Asghar Ebrahimi Magham, Asghar Ganji Panahi, Asghar Mohammadi, Asghar Samadyar, Ashkan Kazemi, Avisha Jalaleddin, Ayoub Asadi, Babak Moradi, Babak Taghian, Bahman Azizi, Bahman Boloor, Bashir Riahi Ghaletaki, Behnoud Pour Rostami, Behrouz Sadeghi Oliyaei, Bijan Soltani, Borzou Dolatshahi, Borzou Mousavizadeh, Ebrahim Allahbakhshi Hafshejani, Ebrahim Mohammadi, Ebrahim Rezaei, Ehsan Alavi Badalchi, Ehsan Malekmohammadi, Ehsan Saffari, Elham Ahmadi, Elyas Mohammadi, Emad Goodarzi, Esameil Abedini, Esmaeil Norouzi, Esmaeil Samadyar, Ezzatollah Lotfalian, Faramarz Mangari, Farhad Arab, Farhad Biranvand, Farhad Feizzadeh, Farhad Kavand, Farhad Naeimi, Farham Farhang Kermani, Farhang Bouzari Kharrazi, Fariborz Hemmati Diarjam, Farshad Sepahvand, Farzad Kazemi, Firooz Rostami, Ghaffar Fereydooni, Ghasem Hassanloo, Ghasem Pourali, Ghasem Zamani, Gholam Abbas Avazeh, Gholam Abbas Hajatinia, Gholam Abbasi, Gholamreza Khani, golestan haftom, Gonabadi Dervish, gonabadi dervish iran, Gonabadi Dervishes, Habib Gallehdari, Habib Ghanbari, Habibollah Rahdar, Hadi Asgharzadeh, Hadi Dehnavi, Hadi Jangjoo, Hadi Shahreza Gamasaei, Hamid Amir Ahmadi, Hamid Ansari Ramandi, Hamid Ashayeri, Hamid Mohammadpour, Hamid Neemat Tavoosi, Hamid Reza AmirAhmadi, Hamzeh Pourahmadi, Hashem Avazeh, Hassan Abbasi, Hassan Barghamdi, Hassan Dehghani, Hassan Feizi Zadeh, Hassan Parvin, Hassan Shahreza, Heidar Esparjani, Hesam Moeini, Heydar Teymouri, Hojattollah Zamani, Homayoun Dolatshahi, Hossein Abedi, Hossein Arab Ameli, Hossein Arang, Hossein Asgari, Hossein Biranvand, Hossein Fahimi, Hossein Forootan, Hossein Ghadrkhani, Hossein Haj Mohammadi, Hossein Jashn, Hossein Kalhori, Hossein Karimi, Hossein Rezaei, Hossein Soleymani, Iraj Madhi, Jafar Ahmadi, Jafar Roustaei Dareh Mianeh, Jafar Sohrabi, Jahangir Haghani, Jalal Modarresi, Jamal Tehrani, Jamshid Asgarian, Javad Khamis Abadi, Kamaran Bahadori, Kasra Nouri, Keramat Jeddi, Khashayar Dehghan, Kia Nejad Hosseini, Kianoush Abbasi, Kianoush Biranvand, Kourosh Alishahi, Mahmood Barakoohi, Mahmoud Baghyar, Mahmoud Farrokhi SaadAbadi, Mahmoud Taghpour, Majid AmirAhmadi, Majid Karimi, Majid Moradi, Majid Rashidi, Majid Shaegh, Majid Zamiri, Malek Rezaei, Manouchehr Kokabi, Mansoor Farhoodmand, Mansour Fouladi, Mansour Tabasi, Maryam Farsyabi, Masoud Alimadadi, Masoud Marzoughi, Masoud Siroosian, Masoumeh Barakoohi, Mazaher Heydari, Mazaher Pourahmadi, Mehdi Bakhtiari, Mehdi Eskandari, Mehdi Fakhrolsadat, Mehdi Imanzadeh, Mehdi Izadpanah, Mehdi Keivanlou, Mehdi Mahdavifar, Mehdi Mahdilou, Mehdi Mardani, Mehdi Mofidi, Mehdi Moghaddam Alavian, Mehdi Nazari, Mehdi Nematollahi, Mehdi Razghandi, Mehdi Rouhbakhsh, Mehdi Sadat, Mehran Asgharzadeh, Mehrdad Eini, Mehrdad Goodarzi, Mehrdad Mosavvari, Mehrdad Pirfalak, Mehrdad Rezai, Mehrdad Shirazi, Meysam Azizan, Milad Kakavand Nejad, Milad Ostovarnavan, Mirsadegh Hosseini, Moein Pourrezagholi, Moghimi, Mohammad Alamdoost, Mohammad Ali Ghannadzadeh, Mohammad Ali Karami Abad Shapoori, Mohammad Ali Raji, Mohammad Amir Ahmadi, Mohammad Asad Samani, Mohammad Asad Zamani, Mohammad Bagher Moghimi, Mohammad Barakoohi, Mohammad Dalvand, Mohammad Davoodi, Mohammad Ghasem Allahyari, Mohammad Hassan Edris Abadi, Mohammad Hassan Heydari, Mohammad Hossein Abolfathi, Mohammad Hossein Amir Ahmadi, Mohammad Kamarei, Mohammad Karimaei, Mohammad Medi Alie, Mohammad Nematollahi, Mohammad Nezam Eslami, Mohammad Panahi Ghale Taki, Mohammad Parhizkar, Mohammad Rajaei, Mohammad Raji, Mohammad Reza Abolfathi, Mohammad Reza Babazadeh Shayan, Mohammad Reza Darvishi, Mohammad Reza Heidari, Mohammad Reza Rajaei, Mohammad Reza Rooein Esfandiari, Mohammad Reza Zehtab, Mohammad Salas, Mohammad Samadyar, Mohammad Sedighi, Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Mohammadreza Talebi, Mohsen Abolhassani, Mohsen Afrooz, Mohsen Ashtiani, Mohsen Azizi, Mohsen Norouzi, Mohsen Parvin, Mojtaba Beiranvand, Mojtaba Shokri, Morad Bagheri Heydari, Morteza Amin Zadeh, Morteza Bidchi Kangarloo, Morteza Ghaderi Samani, Morteza Shokri, Morteza Sohrabpour, Moslem Bani Hashem, Moslem Norouzi, Moslem Rezaei, Mostafa Abdi, Mostafa Armandoost, Mostafa Beiranvand, Mostafa Mirmohammadi, Mostafa Mirzaei, Mostafa Rahsepar, Mostafa Shirazian, Mousa Fazlipour, Nader Beiranvand, Nader Yavari, Naser Fouladi, Nazila Nouri, Nemat Kazemi, Nima Alieh, Nima Azizi Tazangi, Nourali Moghimi, Omid Ghasemi, Omid Hivadi, Omid Mahdavi, Omid Moghaddasi, Omid Zamiri, Payam Noor, Peyman Rasouli, Pouria Nouri, Pouya Ayazi, Rahim Ebrahim Pourahmadi, Ramin Eshkoh, Ramin Yavari, Rasoul Hoveyda, Reza Bavi, Reza Entesari, Reza Farashi, Reza Nematollahi, Reza Parhizkar, Reza Rezai, Reza Soori, Reza Yavari, Rostam Sagvand, Rouhollah Nasiri, Sadegh Gheisari, Saeed Arab Halvaei, Saeed Doorandish, Saeed Goodarzi, Saeed Kakavand, Saeed Karimaei, Saeed Khamooshi, Saeed Morad, Saeed Noroozi, Saeed Ramezani Sheshdeh, Saeed Sigarchi, Saeed Sohrabi, Saeed Soltanpour, Saeed Zangeneh, Saeed Zoghi, Sajjad Amir Ahmadi, Sajjad Baradaran, Sajjad Kazemi, Sajjad Razmi, Saleh Kamali Dehkordi, Saleh Moradi, Samad Dadras, Seddigheh Safabakht, Sekhavat Salimi, Sepideh Moradi, Seyed Hossein Hashemi, Seyed Jalaloddin Ghaznavi Bidgoli, Seyed Mehdi Fateminasab, Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi, Seyyed Ali Mokabberi, Seyyed Amin Seyyedi, Seyyed Mehdi Ashiani, Seyyed Milad Sadat Ardestani, Seyyed Noorali Mousavi, Seyyed Yousef Raeeszadeh, Shahab Bakhshian, Shahb Akbari, Shahnaz Kian Asl, Shahram Shokri, Shima Entesari, Shoaib Esmaeili, Shokoufeh Yadollahi, Siamak Sohrabi, Sima Entesari, Sina Entesari, Solat Hosseini, Soleyman Rafighpour, Taghi Moradi, Vahid Khamooshi, Yaser Akbari Aalam, Yaser Soleymani, Younes Ezzati, Younes Lak, Yousef Esfehani, Yousef Sedigh Maram

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Since coming to the defense of their spiritual leader in what came to be known as the “Golestan Haftom” incident, the Gonabadi Dervish religious minority has faced unprecedented pressure from Iranian authorities.

Around midnight on February 3, 2018, several hundred Gonabadi Dervishes gathered before the home of their spiritual leader Noor Ali Tabandeh, in a gesture of protection against heightened security monitoring of his activities (security forces had aggressively intervened in Dervish gatherings in the same spot less than two weeks earlier). Their February 3rd demonstration — on Golestan-e Haftom street in Tehran, hence the incident’s name — would fare no better and was soon violently disbanded by Iranian police and plainclothes forces of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij faction.

While Iranian judiciary authorities and law enforcement initially announced that they had detained about 300 citizens in connection to Golestan Haftom, HRANA was able to confirm the identities of 382 arrestees. Among them were 11 women who were transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin after their arrests: Nazila Nouri, Shima Entesari, Sima Entesari, Sedigheh Safabakht, Shokofeh Yadollahi, Sepideh Moradi, Elham Ahmadi, Maryam Afrasiabi, Avisha Jalaledin, Masoumeh Barakoohi, and Shahnaz Kian Asl.

HRANA was able to obtain the verdicts of 202 of these detainees, as well as details on those who were brutalized by the Judiciary. 201 people were sentenced to prison terms, lashings, travel bans, exile sentences, and long-term bans on civic activity. Two more, Mohammad Raji and Mohammad Salas, were killed for their participation in Golestan Haftom.

On the night of March 3rd, police had contacted Mohammad Raji’s family, asking them to bring his photo and identifying documents. The next morning, police at Shapoor Criminal Investigation Department Base 10 told the family that Raji was in a coma. A few hours later, police followed up by phone to say he had died. Upon their arrival at the police station, officers announced his cause of death: he had been beaten to death by interrogators.

Mohammad Salas was accused of driving a bus that allegedly struck and killed three police officers on Pasdaran Street in Tehran. He exhausted all avenues of appealing his death sentence without success, and was executed in the morning of Monday, August 20, 2018 — though Salas’ children and his spouse Zaynab Taheri attest that he could not have been the driver of the bus, as he was already in custody three hours prior to the crash.

Tehran General Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced July 24th that 330 sentences had thus far been handed down in Dervish cases. He added: “In the cases of those 25 who refused to attend their court sessions in attempts to thwart trial proceedings, the court […] followed through with procedure. Their verdicts were delivered to them in person.”

Dervishes’ Rights Activists in Great Tehran Penitentiary penned an open letter to the prison’s director refusing to attend a trial that lacked transparency.

At least five of the convicted Dervishes currently detained in Great Tehran Penitentiary are former administrators and collaborators of the Majzooban-e-noor Dervish news site: Mostafa Abdi, Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Saleh Moradi, Reza Entesari, and Sina Entesari.

Some Dervish prisoners who have been assaulted by authorities were denied medical care for their injuries and reported hostile and discriminatory treatment from authorities.

Prison regulations and conventions on prisoners’ rights stipulate that prisoners, as a safety precaution, be housed separately according to their crimes and beliefs. Authorities at Gharchak Prison and Great Tehran Penitentiary, however, house Dervishes [political prisoners] in a general ward alongside common criminals.

Below are the identities and convictions of 202 Golestan Dervishes:

1. Mohammad Yavar Salas, executed.
2. Mostafa Abdi, Majzooban-e-Noor administrator, sentenced to 26 years and 3 months in prison, 148 lashings, a 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel, and a 2-year exile sentence to Sistan & Sistan & Baluchestan Province.
3. Mehdi Mahdavifar and 4. Mostafa Mirmohammadi, each sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison, 144 lashings, a 2-year travel ban, and a 2-year exile sentence to Sistan & Baluchestan Province. Mahdavifar was also sentenced to a 2-year ban on civic activities.
5. Reza Rezai, sentenced to 13 years in prison, 148 lashings, and a 2-year exile sentence to Mirjaveh (Sistan & Baluchestan Province).
6. Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Majzooban-e-Noor journalist, sentenced to 12 years in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year travel ban, a 2-year exile to Borazjan (Bushehr Province), and a 2-year ban on civic activities.
7. Vahid Khamooshi, sentenced to 12 years in prison and a 2-year exile to Rayen (Kerman Province).
8. Bashir Riahi Ghaletaki, sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison, 148 lashings, a 2-year exile to Khash (Sistan & Baluchestan Province)[3] and a 2-year ban on civic activities.
9. Faramarz Mangari, sentenced to 10 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year exile sentence to Roudbar (Kerman Province).
10. Reza Yavari, sentenced to 9 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year exile to Taybad (Razavi Khorasan Province).

Sentenced to 7 years in prison and 74 lashings (plus a 2-year exile sentence for detainees No. 11 to 32):

11. Manouchehr Kokabi 12. Mansoor Farhoodmand 13. Moslem Norouzi 14. Morteza Shokri 15. Mahmood Barakoohi 16. Mohammad Karimaei 17. Mohammad Reza Darvishi 18. Alireza Lak 19. Alireza Azadravesh, 20. Ali Karimi 21. Ali Ghamari 22. Siamak Sohrabi 23. Saeed Soltanpour 24. Heydar Teymouri 25. Habib Ghanbari 26. Babak Moradi 27. Iraj Madhi 28. Ehsan Malekmohammadi 29. Ehsan Saffari 30. Rasoul Hoveyda 31. Mehrdad Rezai 32. Ramin Eshkoh 33. Mostafa Rahsepar 34. Masoud Alimadadi 35. Mohammad Reza Zehtab 36. Mohammad Reza Abolfathi 37. Mohammad Asad Zamani 38. Majid Rashidi 39. Majid AmirAhmadi 40. Hamid Reza AmirAhmadi 41. Jahangir Haghani 42. Armin Abolfathi 43. Arman Abolfathi 44. Amir Seyedi 45. Amir Salimi Chegini 46. Afshin Salimi Chegini 47. Abolfazl Babahosseini 48. Ebrahim Allahbakhshi Hafshejani 49. Nemat Kazemi 50. Saeed Khamooshi.

Sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year ban on civic activities:

51. Morteza Bidchi Kangarloo 52. Mahmoud Baghyar 53. Mohammad Samadyar (Kangarloo was also sentenced to a 2-year exile in Sarbisheh, South Khorasan Province).

Sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel:

54. Morteza Sohrabpour 55. Sajjad Razmi 56. Reza Nematollahi 57. Hassan Abbasi 58. Hassan Shahreza 59. Hesam Moeini 60. Amin Soleymani 61. Mohsen Norouzi

62. Majid Moradi, sentenced to 7 years in prison and 75 lashings.

63. Ali Bahadori, sentenced to 7 years in prison, a 2-year ban on civic activities, and a 2-year exile to Mirjaveh.
64. Abdollah Esmaeili, sentenced to 7 years in prison and a 2-year ban on civic activities.

65. Samad Dadras and 66. Saleh Kamali Dehkordi were sentenced to 7 years in prison and a 2-year travel ban.

67. Khashayar Dehghan, a Ph.D. candidate in Electronics at Tehran University, sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year in exile to Borazjan.

68. Saeed Karimaei and 69. Sekhavat Salimi, each sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year ban on civic activities, and a 2-year in exile, Karimaei to Nehbandan (South Khorasan Province) and Salimi to Nikshahr (Sistan & Baluchestan Province).

70. Saeed Doorandish 71. Saeed Sigarchi 72. Ahmad Barakouhi 73. Mojtaba Beiranvand 74. Behnoud Pour Rostami 75. Moghimi 76. Ahmad Iranikhah 77. Mohsen Abolhassani

The above were all sentenced to 7 years in prison and a 2-year exile sentence, Doorandish to Zabol (Sistan & Baluchestan Province), Sigarchi, Barakouhi, Beiranvand, and Pour Rostami to Sistan & Baluchestan Province, Moghimi to Zahak village (Sistan & Baluchestan Province) and Iranikhah and Abolhassani to Borazjan.

78. Rostam Sagvand 79. Behrouz Sadeghi Oliyaei and 80. Ardeshir Ashayeri, each sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year ban on civic activities, and a 2-year exile, Sagvand to Nehbandan and Sadeghi, Oliyaei, and Ashayeri to Saravan (Sistan & Baluchestan Province).

81. Akbar Beiranvand, sentenced to 7 years in prison, a 2-year ban on civic activities and a 2-year in exile in Zahak.

82. Abolfazl Sahraei, sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year ban on civic activities, and a 2-year exile to Sarbisheh (South Khorasan Province).

83. Saleh Moradi, a Majzooban-e-Noor administrator, sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year in exile to Borazjan.

84. Reza Entesari and 85. Sina Entesari, Majzooban-e-Noor administrator, each sentenced to 7 years in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year exile and 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel.

Each sentenced to 7 years in prison:

86. Younes Lak 87. Nima Azizi Tazangi 88. Nader Beiranvand 89. Mehran Asgharzadeh, 90. Mehdi Bakhtiari 91. Mostafa Armandoost 92. Masoud Marzoughi 93. Morteza Ghaderi Samani 94. Mohammad Reza Babazadeh Shayan 95. Mohammad Reza Rooein Esfandiari 96. Mohsen Ashtiani 97. Majid Karimi 98. Ghasem Hassanloo 99. Farhad Naeimi 100. Gholam Abbas Avazeh 101. Gholam Abbasi 102. Ali Asghar Shariat 103. Mohammad Reza Heidari 104. Reza Bavi 105. Hamid Amir Ahmadi 106. Bijan Soltani 107. Babak Taghian 108. Arash Moradi 109. Amir Astaraki 110. Omid Moghaddasi 111. Asghar Mohammadi 112. Gholam Abbas Hajatinia

113. Maryam Farsyabi and 114. Mehdi Eskandari, each sentenced to 6 years in prison and a 2-year travel ban.

115. Farhang Bouzari Kharrazi and 116. Amir Nouri, each sentenced to 6 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year travel ban.

117. Hossein Soleymani and 118. Asghar Ebrahimi Magham, each sentenced to 6 years in prison and a 2-year ban on civic activities.

119. Amin Hosseini and 120. Akbar Dadashi, each sentenced to 6 years in prison and 74 lashings.

121. Abolfazl Avazeh, sentenced to 6 years in prison, 74 lashings, and a 2-year exile to Mirjaveh.

Each sentenced to 6 years in prison:

122. Farham Farhang Kermani 123. Seyed Mehdi Fateminasab 124. Reza Farashi 125. Seyed Hossein Hashemi 126. Habib Gallehdari

127. Elham Ahmadi and 128. Sepideh Moradi, each sentenced to 5 years in prison and a 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel.

129. Mehdi Izadpanah and 130. Ali Barian, each sentenced to 5 years in prison and a 2-year exile to Sirjan (Kerman Province).

131. Hossein Arang 132. Shokoufeh Yadollahi 133. Seddigheh Safabakht, each sentenced to 5 years in prison and a 2-year ban on civic activities.

Each sentenced to 5 years in prison:

134. Nazila Nouri 135. Shima Entesari 136. Sima Entesari 137. Avisha Jalaleddin 138. Ali Mashallah Vafaei Fard 139. Shahab Bakhshian 140. Mohammad Dalvand 141. Hossein Arab Ameli 142. Asghar Samadyar.

Each sentenced to 3 years in prison:

143. Amir Bahador Jafari 144. Ghasem Zamani 145. Mohsen Azizi 146. Meysam Azizan

147. Mehrdad Eini, sentenced to 2 years in prison and a 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel.
148. Hamid Ashayeri, sentenced to 2 years in prison and a 2-year exile to Sistan & Baluchestan Province.

Each sentenced to 2 years in prison:

149. Esmaeil Norouzi 150. Ashkan Kazemi 151.Elyas Mohammadi 152. Omid Mahdavi 153. Seyed Jalaloddin Ghaznavi Bidgoli 154. Pouria Nouri 155. Hossein Jashn 156. Hossein Haj Mohammadi 157. Sajjad Baradaran 158. Abbas Beraghmadi 159. Ali Afshar Asli 160. Ali Bolboli 161. Ali Rashno 162. Ali Asghar Salari 163. Ali Reza Siasi 164. Kamaran Bahadori 165. Malek Rezaei 166. Mohammad Amir Ahmadi 167. Mohammad Alamdoost 168. Mohammad Ghasem Allahyari 169. Mousa Fazlipour.

170. Kasra Nouri, an M.S. student in Human Rights at Tehran University, sentenced to 1 year in prison, 74 lashings, a 2-year ban on both civic activities and travel, and a 2-year exile to Salas Babajani (Kermanshah Province).

171. Ali Ghannadzadeh, sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in prison.

Each sentenced to 1 year in prison:

172. Yaser Soleymani 173. Ebrahim Rezaei 174. Alborz Rostami 175. Hossein Kalhori 176. Ali Mohammad Shahi 177. Kia Nejad Hosseini 178. Majid Shaegh 179. Mohsen Parvin 180. Mohammad Nezam Eslami 181. Moslem Rezaei 182. Mehdi Imanzadeh 183. Mehdi Sadat 184. Ahmad Nabaei 185. Hashem Avazeh.

Each sentenced to 6 months in prison:

186. Nima Alieh 187. Mahmoud Taghpour 188. Ahmad Daraei 189. Esameil Abedini 190. Jamal Tehrani 191. Hossein Karimi 192. Shahram Shokri 193. Ali Karami 194. Emad Goodarzi 195. Farshad Sepahvand 196. Mostafa Mirzaei 197. Mehdi Moghaddam Alavian 198. Mehdi Nazari 199. Nader Yavari 200. Nourali Moghimi

201. Mostafa Beiranvand, sentenced to 4 months in prison.
202. Mohammad Ali Raji, sentenced to 91 days in prison.

Listed below are the identities of 180 Dervishes whose verdicts have yet to be confirmed:

1. Ebrahim Mohammadi 2.Abolfazl Salari 3. Abolghasem Nasiri Bafghi 4. Ehsan Alavi Badalchi 5.Ahmadreza Talebi 6. Esmaeil Samadyar 7. Asghar Ganji Panahi 8. Alborz Eskandari Sabzi 9. Omid Zamiri 10. Omid Ghasemi 11. Omid Hivadi 12. Amir Bahador Seifi 13. Amir Hossein Shaaban 14. Amir Labbaf 15. Amir Mousavian 16. Amin Hosseinpour 17. Amir Ramezani Sheshdeh 18. Amin Sarrafi 19. Ayoub Asadi 20. Aghabak Zamanipour 21. Borzou Dolatshahi 22. Borzou Mousavizadeh 23. Bahman Boloor 24. Bahman Azizi 25.Pouya Ayazi 26. Payam Noor 27.Peyman Rasouli 28. Taghi Moradi 29. Jafar Ahmadi 30. Jafar Roustaei Dareh Mianeh 31. Jafar Sohrabi 32. Jalal Modarresi 33. Jamshid Asgarian 34. Javad Khamis Abadi 35. Habibollah Rahdar 36. Hojattollah Zamani 37. Hassan Barghamdi 38. Hassan Parvin 39. Hassan Dehghani 40. Hassan Feizi Zadeh 41. Hossein Biranvand 42. Hossein Rezaei 43. Hossein Abedi 44.Hossein Asgari 45.Hossein Forootan 46.Hossein Fahimi 47.Hossein Ghadrkhani 48.Hamzeh Pourahmadi 49.Hamid Ansari Ramandi 50.Hamid Mohammadpour 51.Hamid Neemat Tavoosi 52.Heidar Esparjani 53.Ramin Yavari 54.Rahim Ebrahim Pourahmadi 55.Reza Parhizkar 56. Reza Soori 57.Rouhollah Nasiri 58.Sajjad Amir Ahmadi 59.Sajjad Kazemi 60.Saeed Zoghi 61. Saeed Ramezani Sheshdeh 62.Saeed Zangeneh 63.Saeed Sohrabi 64.Saeed Arab Halvaei 65. Saeed Kakavand 66.Saeed Goodarzi 67.Saeed Morad 68.Saeed Noroozi 69.Soleyman Rafighpour 70.Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi 71.Seyyed Amin Seyyedi 72.Yousef Esfehani 73.Seyyed Ali Mokabberi 74.Seyyed Mehdi Ashiani 75. Seyyed Milad Sadat Ardestani 76.Seyyed Noorali Mousavi 77. Seyyed Yousef Raeeszadeh 78.Shoaib Esmaeili 79.Shahb Akbari 80.Shahnaz Kian Asl 81.Sadegh Gheisari 82.Solat Hosseini 83.Abbas Amani Ali Abadi 84.Abbas Dehghan 85.Abbas Ghiasi 86.Abbas Valinia 87.Abdolsamad Kashefi 88.Ezzatollah Lotfalian 89.Ali Asghar Aramiyon 90.Ali Asghar Farrokhi 91.Ali Asghar Yekkeh Shenas 92.Ali Afshari 93.Ali Akbar Ataei 94.Ali Jamshidi 95.Ali Soltani Azad 96.Ali Suri 97. Ali Sadeghi 98.Ali Abidavi 99.Ali Kandi 100.Ali Mazyar 101. Ali Nezhad Sahebi 102.Ali Nashtoor 103.Ali Vafaei 104.Alireza Jahedi Darvish 105.Alireza Sayyah 106.Alireza Shakouri 107.Alireza Ghasemi 108.Ghaffar Fereydooni 109.Gholamreza Khani 110.Farzad Kazemi 111.Farhad Biranvand 112.Farhad Arab 113.Farhad Feizzadeh 114.Farhad Kavand 115.Fariborz Hemmati Diarjam 116.Firooz Rostami 117.Ghasem Pourali 118.Keramat Jeddi 119.Kourosh Alishahi 120.Kianoush Biranvand 121. Kianoush Abbasi 122.Mojtaba Shokri 123.Majid Zamiri 124.Mohsen Afrooz 125.Mohammad Asad Samani 126.Mohammad Bagher Moghimi 127.Mohammad Barakoohi 128.Mohammad Parhizkar 129.Mohammad Panahi Ghale Taki 130.Mohammad Hassan Edris Abadi 131.Mohammad Hassan Heydari 132.Mohammad Hossein Abolfathi 133.Mohammad Hossein Amir Ahmadi 134.Mohammad Davoodi 135.Yousef Sedigh Maram 136.Mohammad Raji 137.Mohammad Rajaei 138.Mohammad Reza Rajaei 139.Mohammad Sedighi 140.Mohammad Ali Ghannadzadeh 141. Mohammad Kamarei 142.Mohammad Medi Alie 143.Mohammad Nematollahi 144.Younes Ezzati 145.Mohammadreza Talebi 146.Mohammad Ali Karami Abad Shapoori 147.Mahmoud Farrokhi SaadAbadi 148.Morad Bagheri Heydari 149.Morteza Amin Zadeh 150.Masoud Siroosian 151.Moslem Bani Hashem 152.Mostafa Shirazian 153.Mazaher Pourahmadi 154.Mazaher Heydari 155.Masoumeh Barakoohi 156.Mehdi Mahdilou 157.Moein Pourrezagholi 158.Mansour Tabasi 159.Mansour Fouladi 160.Mehdi Razghandi 161. Mehdi Rouhbakhsh 162.Mehdi Fakhrolsadat 163.Mehdi Keivanlou 164.Mehdi Mardani 165.Mehdi Mofidi 166.Mehdi Nematollahi 167.Mehrdad Pirfalak 168.Mehrdad Shirazi 169.Mehrdad Goodarzi 170.Mehrdad Mosavvari 171.MirSadegh Hosseini 172.Milad Ostovarnavan 173.Milad Kakavand Nejad 174.Naser Fouladi 175.Hadi Asgharzadeh 176.Hadi Jangjoo 177.Hadi Dehnavi 178.Hadi Shahreza Gamasaei 179.Homayoun Dolatshahi 180.Yaser Akbari Aalam

Two Months of Interrogations for Three Citizens, then Zahedan Prison

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners
Atahollah Shahbakhsh, Javid Shahbakhsh, Salem Shahbakhsh, Zahedan, Zahedan Prison

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- On Thursday, November 1, 2018, three prisoners from Sarbaz County in Sistan and Baluchestan Province were transferred from an Intelligence office to Zahedan Prison after two months of interrogations.

During the arrest, security forces reportedly opened fire on the men, injuring one of them who has yet to receive medical treatment. HRANA has identified these prisoners as Atahollah Shahbakhsh, 25, Salem Shahbakhsh, 23, and Javid Shahbakhsh, 27.

An informed source told HRANA that prison authorities transferred the men to different wards on Thursday: Javid Shahbakhsh to Ward 8, Salem Shahbakhsh to Ward 6, and Ataollah Shahbakhsh to Ward 5 and that a bullet wound on Salem Shahbakhsh’s left hand has gone untreated.

“These prisoners were beaten and tortured in the intelligence detention center for about two months,” the source said, adding that they faced charges of “acting against national security” and ” cooperation with opposition groups.”

Rajai Shahr Prisoner Enters 38th Day of Hunger Strike

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners, Religious Minorities
Gholamreza Ziyai, Hamzeh Darvish, Hunger Strike, hunger strike prisoner, prisoner hunger strike iran, Sunni, sunni prisoner, Sunni prisoners

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- Rajai Shahr Prisoner Hamzeh Darvish, 24, a member of Iran’s Sunni religious minority, has been on hunger strike since September 23rd in protest of the Supreme Court’s denial of his retrial request.

A close source told HRANA that “Darvish is in a bad state. The prison officials are ignoring him in order to send the message that the strike will not get him anywhere. They’re not even acting as a go-between with the judiciary so that he can pursue his rights.”

Rajai Shahr authorities have shown brutal intolerance towards Darvish’s demonstrations of protest. Following the launch of his most recent hunger strike, he was reportedly held in solitary confinement for three days.

In response to a prior hunger strike — protesting a lack of due process in his judicial proceedings — Prison Director Gholamreza Ziaei, Rajai Shahr Deputy Vice President Esmaeili, and Security Director Zolfali beat Darvish black and blue, sent him to the quarantine ward for three weeks, then transferred him to the coroner’s office in handcuffs and shackles.

His family, living far away from Karaj, are rarely able to afford transport for a visit. Meanwhile, prison authorities have restricted his extra-prison contacts.

Hamzeh Darvish was reportedly lured to Syria by ISIS (Daesh) agents in 2014, where he was transferred to the Islamic State’s prison in Raqqa before fleeing to Iran. In hopes of remaining free by posting bail or pledging allegiance to Iran — after which he planned to earn a living as a quail farmer — he turned himself in to Iranian security forces. A short while later, however, he was back in custody facing an 18-year prison sentence.

The circumstances of his trial were criticized for their lack of transparency and due process. With the application of a legal provision that came into effect later, his multiple prison sentences were permitted to run concurrently, reducing his total sentence to 15 years.

Darvish told his story in an open letter published in August 2017, in which he appealed to human rights advocacy groups for help. In it, he describes his ties to ISIS as accidental, claiming he was hailed to Turkey by an ISIS-defecting Iranian friend who needed help returning home due to a wounded leg. When he hitched a ride to meet his friend in Turkey, Darvish said, the story was revealed to be a setup: his drivers instead took him to Syria and handed him over to Daesh.

According to his letter, Darvish spent some time as a forced laborer and was tortured severely after protesting ISIS suicide attacks on civilians. He was finally able to flee amid a transfer between medical facilities in Syria.

Karaj is the capital of Alborz province, located 30 miles west of Tehran.

Open Letter: the Fabricated Case file of Political Prisoner Pirouz Mansouri

Posted on by Sara
Prisoners
fabricated casefile, Mohammad Ali Mansouri, open letter, Rajai Shahr Prison, Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison of Karaj, un special rapporteur on iran, ward 209

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – Mohammad Ali (Pirouz) Mansouri, who has been a political prisoner at Rajai Shahr for eleven years, is further from freedom than he thought.

A new case file opened up against Mansouri, accusing him of “gathering and conspiring against the regime,” will prolong his 15-year prison sentence by another five years. Cited in court as evidence of this charge were records of his hunger strikes, instances of “aggravating other prisoners,” his declaration of support for Mohammad Ali Taheri, and a statement he issued condemning the execution of a Sunni prisoner.

In an effort to alert human rights defenders — particularly the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran — Mansouri has written an open letter detailing the circumstances of the new case file.

Full text of his letter below:

“Report of a Fabricated Casefile

I, Mohammad Ali Mansouri, have been serving a prison sentence since August 28, 2007 — i.e. for eleven years. In May of 2017, per a newly fabricated case file, I was imprisoned and interrogated in Ward 209 [Ministry of Intelligence jurisdiction] for a month. The new charge was built on my exchanges through [the messenger app] Telegram. Since I’ve been in prison, I haven’t been granted a single day of furlough. In the absence of any evidence, charges were dismissed, and the case was closed. Then, in October, I was interrogated once more, in connection to a new charge: propaganda against the regime. From behind bars.

In January, without any advance notice that would allow me to retain an attorney, I was tried by Judge Moghiseh in Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. I was indicted on charges that were never mentioned during my interrogations. The trial was unconventional[…]even compared to the unlawful methods employed routinely.

Defenseless and without the presence of an attorney, I was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for propaganda against the regime and gathering and conspiring with intent to commit a crime.

Notwithstanding the impossibility of gathering and conspiring from within the prison, criminal intent alone carries a five-year term […]

I verbally protested the matter (as they saw no need to put my complaint in writing). I introduced Mr. Dorafshan as my attorney, and yet, in his absence, the appeals court settled on a three-year imprisonment sentence[…]

The sentence was issued without a supervising judge, without me, and in the sole presence of the court secretary. The court record was entirely verbal. It was in no way compliant with the Islamic Penal Code. It was never clarified how it was deemed feasible when a hearing never convened, a judge never appeared, the defendant was absent, and the defense itself never spoke, that an appeal request could be filed and that this file could result in a sentence?

I have related the entirety of these judicial proceedings in order to illustrate the workings of our judicial system […]

I write not for the people of my country, who know this story by their own flesh and bones, but for human rights organizations, especially the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. May they see the real face of our so-called independent judiciary, which is nothing but a sentence-printing machine run by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Mohammad Ali Mansouri, Rajai Shahr Prison,
November 2018”

Mohammad Ali (Pirouz) Mansouri was arrested September 2007 for participating in the 19th-anniversary commemorations of political prisoners that were executed in 1986. Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Salavati, sentenced him to 17 years of imprisonment on charges of “contacting and conspiring with the anti-regime Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization”. Added to that was an exile sentence to Karaj, in Rajai Shahr Prison, and a fine of 150 thousand tomans [approximately $80 USD]. The sentence was upheld in appeals court.

In July 2015, Mansouri’s daughter Iran Mansouri reported that a clemency program held on a religious holiday had reduced her father’s sentence by two years. His most recent case file has increased his remaining five-year term to a decade. He has yet to be granted furlough.