Category: News

Two Inmates Executed in Dastgerd and Zanjan Prisons

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Akbar Shahsavand, Dastgerd Prison, Morad Saleh-Beyg, Secret executions, Zanjan Prison

On the morning of March 2, an inmate convicted for drug-related crimes was executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan City. On February 28, an inmate convicted for murder was executed after carrying out flogging in Zanjan Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Iran Human Rights Organization, the inmate executed in Dastgerd was identified as Akbar Shahsavand, age 36. He was convicted for drug-related crimes four years ago.

The inmate executed in Zanjan Prison was identified as Morad Saleh-Beyg, about 45 years old. He was executed after flogging. Five years ago, he was sentenced to death and 74 lashes for committing murder.

These executions have not been announced by judicial authorities or reported by media inside Iran.

The most recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between January 1 of 2021 and December 20 of 2021, at least 299 citizens, including four juvenile offenders, were executed. In addition, 85 citizens were sentenced to death in this period.

As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce over 88% of executions. These unreported executions are known as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.

Inmate Convicted for Killing a Police Agent Executed in Dezful Prison

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Dezful prison, executions

On March 3, an inmate convicted for killing a police agent was executed in Dezful Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tasnim News Agency, the inmate was identified as Abbas Naderi.

The Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Shush City announced the execution. According to him, Naderi’s conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Iran.

The most recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between January 1 of 2021 and December 20 of 2021, at least 299 citizens, including four juvenile offenders, were executed. In addition, 85 citizens were sentenced to death in this period.

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki Released on Bail after Seven Days Detention

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, Hunger Strike

On  March 2, civil activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was released on bail from prison. On February 23, his family announced that he was missing. After three days of inquiry at Evin Courthouse, their lawyers found out that he had been abducted by security forces and detained in Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on the fifth day of detention, Ronaghi’s brother, Hasan Ronaghi, announced that he was allowed to make a phone call. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki told his family that he had been on hunger strike since the arrest, which raised concerns due to his poor health condition, including  severe kidney problems.

Ronaghi has faced other arrests and convictions due to his civil activities.

In 2009, IRGC intelligence agents arrested him and detained him for ten months in Ward 2-A of Evin Prison. On October 5, 2010, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. The verdict was upheld on appeal and he was sent to Ward 350 of Evin Prison. In May of 2016, he was released from jail after granting an imprisonment intolerance certificate due to his severe kidney problems.

Mostafa Abdi Denied Adequate Medical Treatment Despite Showing COVID-19 Related Respiratory Problems

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Coronavirus, covid-19, Golestan-e Haftom, Gonabadi Dervishes, Mostafa Abdi

Mostafa Abdi, an imprisoned member of a religious community known as Gonabadi Dervishes, tested positive for COVID-19 in the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary. Despite showing serious COVID symptoms such as respiratory problems, he has not been allowed to be hospitalized outside prison or go on medical furlough.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Abdi’s father, Hasan Abdi, confirmed the news on his personal social media. According to an informed source close to the family, prisoner officials have not approved of medical furlough or dispatch to a hospital despite frequent requests and respiratory problems.

Abdi is a Gonabadi Darvish, a prisoner of conscience, and the administrator of the Dervish news site Majzooban-e-Noor.

On February 20, 2018, he was arrested during the Golestan-e Haftom Protests. These protests took place on Golestan 7th Street in a district in Tehran, which led to bloody clashes between security forces and Dervishes.

Thereafter, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him 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 to Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Applying Article 34 of the Islamic Penal Code, the severest punishment of seven years and six months is enforceable.

He had previously faced other arrests and convictions. In July of 2013, he was sentenced to three years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security”. In December of 2015, he was released from jail after serving his sentence.

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.

Mohammad Hossein Ahangari Released With Electronic Tag From Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
arson, Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, Mohammad Hossein Ahangari

Mohammad Hossein Ahangari, who was arrested during nationwide protests in November 2019, was released with an electronic tag and restricted movement from the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary. He will serve the rest of his three-year sentence outside the prison with restrictions on his movement.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ahangari was released on bail on November 26 2019, pending legal proceedings. In November 2020, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment by Branch 101 of the Criminal Court of Eslamshahr on the charge of “an arson attack on Basij Base”. On December 8, 2020, he was jailed to serve his sentence.

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UN Human Rights Experts Ask Iran Parliament to Abandon Bill Restricting Access to Global Internet

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
internet access in iran, Tarh-e-Sianat

In an open statement, United Nations human rights experts asked Iran’s Parliament to abandon the User Protection Bill (Tarh-e-Sianat), which aims to disrupt the Iranian people’s access to the global internet, including international service and social media platforms.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, UN human rights experts asked Iran’s Parliament not to enact the controversial restrictive law known as the “User Protection bill” which would “effectively isolate the country from the global Internet”.

Referring to nationwide protests that broke out in November 2019, experts express their concerns about Internet blackout and the regime’s control over private data.

“In November 2019, Government efforts to control the online space culminated in a total internet shutdown in Iran for one week during nationwide protests. At the time, UN experts raised concerns that the information blackout following the shutdown had facilitated human rights violations, including excessive use of force by security forces against protesters, resulting in the deaths of at least 324 people. Shutdowns and disruption of internet services have since continued, particularly in connection with protests”.

UN experts point out that enacting such a bill not only restricts the circulation of information but also impedes business operations and other activities, which “adversely impact sectors reliant on information technology, including science, education and medicine”.

If the bill is passed, Internet Service providers in Iran will be forced to follow strict government instructions in order to limit access and narrow the internet bandwidth.

Iranian-American Citizen Emad Sharghi and Political Prisoner Reza Ghalandari Contract COVID-19 in Evin Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Bahareh Amidi, Coronavirus, COVID, covid-19, Emad Sharghi, Reza Ghalandari, Salavati

Imprisoned Iranian-American citizen Emad Sharghi and political prisoner Reza Ghalandari tested positive for COVID-19 in Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Sharghi’s family has previously expressed concerns about his health in case he contracts COVID-19, as he suffers from high blood pressure and cholesterol. He has been deprived of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In April of 2018, Sharghi was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents on the charge of espionage. After nine months in detention, he was released on bail. IRGC confiscated his passport as well as the passport of his wife, Bahareh Amidi, in order to prevent them from leaving the country.

An informed source told HRANA regarding Shargi’s arrest that “about 20 security agents— later it turned out that they were IRGC agents— raided his house in Tehran at night to arrest him and his wife. Mr. Sharghi was detained for nine months in Evin Prison awaiting his legal proceedings. Finally, he was temporarily released on bail”.

On November 30, 2020,  Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Salavati, sentenced him to 10 years in prison in a trial in absentia. He was charged with “espionage and collecting gathering military intelligence.” He was not summoned to attend the trial and was denied the right to defend himself.

In January of 2021, HRANA reported his arrest at the border area of Sardasht by IRGC intelligence agents during an attempt to flee the country.

He is currently spending his sentence in Salon 9 of Ward 8 in Evin Prison.

Ghalandari, age 40, is serving his sentence in the same ward. He was sentenced five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security” by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. The verdict was upheld on appeal.

Christian Convert Naser Navard Goltappeh’s Request for Retrial Rejected

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Christian convert, christian converts in iran, Naser Navard Goltappeh, Religious Minorities, religious minorities in iran

Branch 9 of the Supreme Court rejected the imprisoned Christian convert Naser Navard Goltappeh’s request for a retrial for the fourth time. He is currently serving a 10 year sentence in Evin Prison. Despite suffering from oral and dental diseases and severe visual impairment, he has been denied medical treatment in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, his lawyer, Iman Soleymani, called the Supreme Court’s decisions arbitrary and erratic. He told HRANA that “the Supreme Court issued its verdict regardless of defendant’s rights, which is in violation of citizen rights and the principle of legality of crime and punishments, the principle of innocence and Article 474 of the Criminal Procedure Code whereby different punishment in degrees for similar charges is not allowed”.

“His request has invoked the recent retrial of nine Christian converts which subsequently led to their acquittal”, he added. In November of last year, Branch 28 of the Supreme Court of Iran announced that promoting Christianity and forming a home church is neither a crime nor an act against national security.

On June 24, 2016, Naser Navard Goltappeh was arrested along with three people of Azerbaijan nationality. All four were interrogated for two months and detained in solitary confinement cells. After four months, they were released on bail of 100 million tomans. The Azerbaijani citizens returned to their country after the release.

Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Goltappeh to 10 years in prison on the charge of “acting against national security by organizing an illegal home church”. The verdict was upheld on appeal on November 12, 2017.

He is currently serving his sentence in Ward 8 of Evin Prison.

Despite the fact that Christians are recognized as a religious minority under Iranian law, security forces nevertheless harass and prosecute Muslims who convert to Christianity.

The prosecution of Christian converts stands in blatant violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which state that every individual has the right to freedom of religion and belief and freedom to express it openly or secretly.

Nine Christian Converts Acquitted on Appeal

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News, Religious Minorities
Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Behnam Akhlaghi, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Namanian, Khalil Dehghanpour, Mehdi Khatibi, Mohammad-Reza Vafadar, Shahrooz Eslam-Doost

Branch 34 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals acquitted nine Christian converts, Abdolreza Ali HaghNejad, Behnam Akhlaghi, Shahrooz Eslam-Doost, Mehdi Khatibi, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Khalil Dehghanpour, Hossein Kadivar, Kamal Namanian and Mohammad-Reza Vafadar. Each of them had been sentenced to five years in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, following the Supreme Court of Iran’s agreement to hold a retrial, the case was sent to Branch 34 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals. The citizens were charged with “acting against national security through holding underground church services and promoting Evangelical Christianity and Zionism.”

Their lawyers have argued that “as believers, [their] clients follow Christian faith and practices and have not done anything whatsoever against national security in preaching and explaining their faith, just as the Bible asked believers to be subject to governing authorities.”

These citizens had been sentenced to five years in prison. Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeal upheld these verdicts in June of 2020. In November of last year, Branch 28 of the Supreme Court of Iran announced that promoting Christianity and forming a home church is neither a crime nor an act against national security. Consequently, their appeal was accepted and they were acquitted by Branch 34 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.

The prosecution of Christian converts stands in blatant violation of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which state that every individual has the right to freedom of religion and belief and freedom to express it openly or secretly.

Five Citizens Arrested for Circulating “Obscene Pictures” On the Internet

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Freedom of Expression, News
free speech, Gilan, obscene pictures

The Deputy Chief of Police of Gilan announced that they have arrested five people for allegedly circulating so-called “obscene pictures” on the Internet. The regime’s police and judicial authorities have been criticized for violating privacy rights of citizens and interfering with individual affairs.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the detained people have been delivered to judicial authorities pending legal proceedings.

Imposing a certain lifestyle on citizens stands in blatant violation of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which entitles everyone the right to life, liberty and security of person. Additionally, Article 12 of this declaration affirms, “One shall not be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.