Hadi Mirzaie Still in Detention for about Four Months

Hadi (Abbas) Mirzaie is still detained for about four months in the Great Tehran Penitentiary with an unclear status of due process.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Hadi Mirzaie, a Master’s student in music at the Tehran University of Art, is still detained for about four months.

An informed source told HRANA, “Mirzaie is still jailed in the Great Tehran Penitentiary, awaiting processing.”
On December 10, 2022, security forces arrested Mirzaie near his office in Tehran. On January 11, 2023, he was transferred to the Great Tehran Penitentiary.

Student Hadi (Abbas) Mirzaie is an electrical engineering graduate at Shahid Beheshti University, a Master’s student in music at the Tehran University of Art, and an expert in stamps and banknotes.

 

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Ruhollah Heidari Arrested

On April 3, security forces arrested Ruhollah Heidari and took him to an undisclosed location. His brother, Javad Heidari, was killed by regime forces amid the 2022 nationwide protests.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on April 3, 2023, Ruhollah Heidari was arrested.

His sister, Fatemeh Heidari informed the public, “After the arrest of my three brothers and firing me from my job, today, they arrested my other brother, Ruhollah Heidari, without giving any reason. My family’s inquiries have remained unanswered so far.”
Heidari’s detained location and the allegation against him are also unknown.

On September 22, 2022, his brother, Javad Heidari, age 36, was shot dead at protests in Qazvin.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

 

Fakhreddin Ebrahimi Arrested in Urmia

On April 3, 2023, Fakhreddin Ebrahimi was arrested by security forces after being summoned to the Investigation Branch of the Urmia Public and Revolutionary Court. On March 17, 2023, his father, Mohyeddin Ebrahimi, a political prisoner, was executed.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, on April 3, 2023, security forces arrested Fakhreddin Ebrahimi in Urmia.

On March 27, Ebrahimi reportedly was summoned to the Investigation branch of the Urmia Public and Revolutionary Court for the allegation of “destructing door of guard room of the Court of Appeal.” He was arrested there by security forces and taken to a detention facility.
Earlier, on March 16, 2023, he was also arrested by security forces and released on bond the next day.

Latest List of Jailed Journalists in Iran

Over the past six months, dozens of journalists have been arrested or summoned for covering news and publishing articles about the 2022 nationwide protests and poison attacks on school students. These arrests exemplify the regime’s attempt to suppress the free flow of information and limit social and civil liberties. This report provides a list of 19 jailed journalists.

According to data collected by HRANA, among many of the journalists who were detained or summoned in recent months, at least 19 are still jailed/imprisoned in different prisons:

Niloofar Hamedi
Niloofar Hamedi

1- Niloofar Hamedi
Arrest date: September 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant with an unclear status of due process.
Latest Condition: Jailed in Qarchak Prison, Varamin city.

 

 

Elaheh Mohammadi
Elaheh Mohammadi

2- Elaheh Mohammadi
Arrest date: September 29, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant with an unclear status of due process.
Latest Condition: Jailed in Qarchak Prison, Varamin city.

 

 

 

Alireza Jabbari Darestani
Alireza Jabbari Darestani

3- Alireza Jabbari Darestani
Arrest date: September 25, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Vida Rabbani
Vida Rabbani

4- Vida Rabbani
Arrest date: September 24, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: sentenced to seven years and three months in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security”
Latest Condition: Jailed in Evin Prison, Tehran

 

Maliheh Doreki
Maliheh Doreki

5- Maliheh Doreki
Arrest date: October 26, 2022
Place of Arrest: Abadan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi
Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi

6- Farzaneh Yahya-Abadi
Arrest date: October 19, 2022
Place of Arrest: Abadan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Farkhandeh Ashoori
Farkhandeh Ashoori

7- Farkhandeh Ashoori
Arrest date: October 17, 2022
Place of Arrest: Shiraz
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Siamand Mohtadi
Siamand Mohtadi

8- Siamand Mohtadi
Arrest date: February 11, 2023
Place of Arrest: Bukan
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Ziba Omidifar
Ziba Omidifar

9- Ziba Omidifar
Arrest date: December 8, 2022
Place of Arrest: Qorveh
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Maral Darafarin
Maral Darafarin

10- Maral Darafarin
Arrest date: November 1, 2022
Place of Arrest: unknown (a resident of Lahijan)
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Melika Hashemi
Melika Hashemi

11- Melika Hashemi
Arrest date: January 20, 2023
Place of Arrest: Tehran (Evin Courthouse)
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Amir Maskani
Amir Maskani

12- Amir Maskani
Arrest date: November 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Sabzevar
Status of due process:  sentenced to seven months in prison, nine months of suspended imprisonment and paying a five-million-Toman fine for “propaganda against the regime, inciting people to commit murder and wage war against national security”
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei
Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei

13- Seyed-Ali Pour-Tabatabaei
Arrest date: March 5, 2023
Place of Arrest: Qom
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

 

Morteza Hagh-Bayan
Morteza Hagh-Bayan

14- Morteza Hagh-Bayan
Arrest date: August 25, 2019
Place of Arrest: Sanandaj
Status of due process: sentenced to two years and six months in prison for “spreading falsehood on the Internet, disturbing public opinions, insulting and slandering government’ authorities.”
Latest Condition: Since May 19, 2021, he has been serving his sentence in Sanadaj Prison.

 

 

Mohsen Ravari
Mohsen Ravari

15- Mohsen Ravari
Arrest date: September 23, 2022
Place of Arrest: Jiroft
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

 

Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam
Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam

16- Pouria Mahdavi Moghadam
Arrest date: October 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Borujerd
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

 

17- Iman Behpasand
Arrest date: September 22, 2022
Place of Arrest: Tehran
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

18- Mohsen Ahmadizadeh
Arrest date: September 23, 2022
Place of Arrest: Jiroft
Status of due process: defendant awaiting trial
Latest Condition: Unknown

Mohammad Zare Foumani
Mohammad Zare Foumani

19- Mohammad Zare Foumani
Arrest date: October 9, 2022
Place of Arrest: unknown
Status of due process: Sentenced by the Court of Appeals to 12 years, paying a 15-million-Tomans fine and two years exile for “spreading falsehood against the regime’s authorities to disturb public opinions, assembly and collusion, and inciting people to act against national security.”
Latest Condition: Jailed in Evin Prison’s special ward for clergies, Tehran.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunni Hossein Askani Arrested in Rask

On April 2, 2023, security forces arrested Sunni citizen Hossein Askani in Rask and took him to an undisclosed location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on April 2, quoting the Baloch Activists Campaign, Hossein Askani was arrested in Rask, Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

20-year-old Askani reportedly was apprehended by IRGC forces while returning from a religious school along with several other students.

The report speculates that his arrest is related to his activities in the religious group Tablighi Jamaat. (Society of Preachers)

Askani’s detained location is still unknown.

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Maryam Bani-Razi Sentenced to Imprisonment and Flogging for Breaking Hijab Rules  

Maryam Bani-Razi, a resident of Qom, was sentenced to over eight months, 148 lashes and additional punishments for not complying with the compulsory Hijab.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Persian BBC, Maryam Bani-Razi was sentenced to imprisonment.

Bani-Razi was given ten days in prison for removing her headscarf in public, eight months and 74 lashes for “disturbing public order,” and another 74 lashes and the two-year termination of her job as a nurse for “committing an outrage on public modesty.”

In November-December 2022, a video surfaced showing Bani-Razi in a bank without a headscarf.”

 

Iran Protests: Mehdi Dastani Sentenced to Imprisonment and Flogging

The Yazd Criminal Court sentenced teacher Mehdi Dastani, arrested at the 2022 nationwide protests, to one year in prison and 74 lashes, a ban from leaving the country and termination of service as a teacher.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Medi Dastani, a teacher and resident of Yazd, was sentenced to one year in prison and flogging.

Dastani received this verdict for “disturbing public order by creating traffic on the street and accompanying troublemakers.” This verdict was upheld on appeal.

An informed source told HRANA, “last March, Dastani was summoned to endure flogging and start serving his sentence.”

“He was acquitted from other charges due to the lack of evidence,” the source added.

On September 28, 2022, Dastani was arrested at nationwide protests by security forces in Yazd and released after three days on 700-million-toman bail.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

 

Iran Protests: Citizens Arrested in Kermanshah

Security forces arrested an individual in Kermanshah for “association with anti-regime satellite television channels and leading the protests.”

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Fars News Agency, an individual was arrested by IRGC forces in Kermanshah.

This report claims that this individual “met anti-regime groups in Kurdish regions of Iran one month before the beginning of [nationwide] protests. He also sent pictures of protests and strikes to anti-regime satellite television channels.”

He was also accused of leading the protests. This report did not disclose his identity and his detained location.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.

 

Several Tour Members Arrested in Dezful

The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Dezful announced the arrest of several tour members in Dezful County.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting ILNA, several tour members were arrested in Dezful.

Without disclosing the number of detainees and the allegations, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Dezful, Mehdi Amadeh, mentioned breaking norms and indecent acts as the reason for the arrest.

According to this judicial official, this tour had lodged adjacent to Dez Dam Lake in Dezful Country. He also stated that the tour leader was jailed in prison.

What the regime labels “promoting a western lifestyle” has long been a source of tension between the regime and the Iranian people.
Iran’s regime routinely violates citizens’ privacy rights and cultural activities, deemed at variance with Islamic values.

 

Iran Protests: Sahand Nourmohammadzadeh Sentenced to Imprisonment and Exile

Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Sahand Nourmohammadzadeh to six years in prison and ten years of exile in Kahnuj, Kerman Province. This sentence was issued after his death sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Shargh Newspaper, Sahand Nourmohammadzadeh, one of the individuals arrested at the 2022 nationwide protests, has been sentenced to imprisonment and exile.

Nourmohammadzadeh has received ten years of exile for “enmity against God (moharebeh),” five years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and one year in prison for “disturbing public order.”

Ahmadi expressed disappointment that the judge, contrary to the Supreme Court’s decision, did not dismiss the charge of Moharebeh. Additionally, Ahmadi announced that he would object to this verdict.
Nourmohammadzadeh was initially sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court overturned this decision and sent the case to Branch 26 for review.

About the 2022 Nationwide Protests

The arrest of Mahsa Amini by Tehran Morality Police for her improper hejab and her suspicious death on September 16 sparked protests sweeping across Iran. During the nationwide protests, about 19600 people, including journalists, artists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, were arrested.