Category: Prisoners

Maryam Majd in Critical Condition; No News From Mahnaz Mohammadi

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Prisoners
Mahnaz Mohammadi, Maryam Majd

HRANA News Agency – Although fifteen days has passed since Mahnaz Mohammadi was detained, the documentary filmmaker and women’s rights activist has not been able to contact her family by phone.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), despite widespread objections to Mahnaz Mohammadi continued incarceration and lack of news from her, Iranian security and judicial officials have remained silent about the reason behind her arrest and have denied her the right to call her family.

Maryam Majd, a photo-journalist and women’s rights activist, contacted her family by phone yesterday.It has been reported that she was in a poor psychological condition at the time of her contact.According to a well informed source, Maryam Majd suffers from kidney problems and has not been able to eat anything since last Friday.Additionally, Maryam Majd has both heart and kidney diseases for which she was hospitalized for some time before her arrest.

Furthermore, because of Mahnaz Mohammadi’s health problems, concerns and worries surrounding her imprisonment and unknown condition continue to increase.An informed source close to the documentary filmmaker has said, “Mahnaz suffers from a disease similar to Multiple Sclerosis and must take medication such as Cortisone daily.If she doesn’t take her medication, she will have extreme muscular pain and local paralysis.Since there has been no news of her during this time, we are worried whether she has had access to her medication.”

On June 17, 2011, Maryam Majd was arrested in her family home when she intended to leave the country to cover the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

Sources close to Maryam Majd and Mahnaz Mohammadi have reported that their case files have been given to the investigators at Park Shahr Court.Unlike that of other political and social activists, Maryam Majd and Mahnaz Mohammadi’s cases are not being handled by the Revolutionary Court and the Evin Court.

During the last few weeks, amongst widespread objections to these activists’ arrests, a number of human rights organizations, trade unions and foreign governments have requested Maryam Majd and Mahnaz Mohammadi’s immediate and unconditional release from prison.

 

Iran’s Guantánamo Bay: the cover-up won’t work

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Prisoners

Faced with undeniable evidence of a scandal, one solution is to blame others. But picking out a few expendable scapegoats from your own side – and punishing them – often works better. That is the tactic adopted by the Iranian regime in trying to shrug off revelations of atrocities in the Kahrizak detention centre.
This week an Iranian military court convicted and sentenced to death two officials who had been accused of torturing and killing three protesters in the centre during the aftermath of last year’s disputed presidential election.

 

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Prisoner Raped in Rajaiee Shahr Prison

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Prisoners

HRANA – Bahram Tasviri Khiabani, a prisoner held in Rajaiee Shahr prison in the city of Karaj, was raped with a baton by two IRGC members (“Pasdar”) guarding the ward.
Based on reports received by HRANA, a regular prisoner in Rajaiee Shahr prison named Bahram Tasviri Khiabani was placed in solitary confinement as punishment for unknown reasons. Due to the lengthy duration of his isolation and prison officials’ refusal to allow him to contact his family, Mr. Khiabani attempted self-immolation in his solitary cell.
Upon seeing the attempted self-immolation on security monitors, prison guards and Pasdars rescued him from death. Thereafter, they began beating him with fire extinguishers, breaking his hands and legs. They then transferred him to another solitary cell where they raped him with a baton.
Bahram was held in solitary confinement for another month before he was transferred to the prison clinic to receive treatment for the severe infection in his broken leg. After receiving minor medical treatment, Bahram was transferred to the prison’s general ward.
Mr. Khiabani’s family have launched a complaint, which has led to the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to increase their pressures and threats against this prisoner.
 

85 years old Baha’i prisoner banned of visit and phone call

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Prisoners
Mohammad Hussein Nakha'i

HRANA News Agency – 85 years old Baha’i citizen, Mohammad Hussein Nakha’i, sentenced to 3 years in prison, is banned of visit and phone call with no reason.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Elderly Baha’i citizen, imprisoned from May 2012 in Birjand Prison, Mohammad Hussein Nakha’i, is being banned of visit and phone call by judiciary authorities with no reason.
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Younes Aghayan on Hunger Strike in Solitary Confinement

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Prisoners
Mehdi Ghassemzadeh, Younes Aghayan

HRANA News Agency –  Younes Aghayan, ethnic prisoner sentenced to death who was transferred from Mahabad prison to solitary confinement in Urmia prison on Wednesday, December 26, 2012, is on hunger strike from that day.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Younes Aghayan, a follower of the Yari faith (Ahl-e Haq), ethnic prisoner who is sentenced to death, was transferred from Mahabad prison to solitary confinement in Urmia prison. He is on hunger strike from the day he was transferred to solitary confinement. There is fear of his execution.
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Amnesty: Iran must immediately release prisoner of conscience Arzhang Davoodi

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Prisoners
Arzhang Davoodi, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui

Iranian writer Arzhang Davoodi
HRANA News Agency –Writer Arzhang Davoodi, who is facing fresh charges after being imprisoned in Iran for nearly nine years, must be released immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty International said.

Arzhang Davoodi, 60, who has been imprisoned since October 2003, faces a court hearing before Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on 28 August on a new charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), which carries a possible death sentence.

The new charge is believed to be linked to his peaceful political activism and writings, including the release of an audio recording in which he called for “freedom and democracy”.

Therecorded messagewas widely distributed on the internet after the Confederation for Iranian Students (CIS), a 7,000-membership independent, pro-western student movement, released the recording in a conference in the United States of America. 

Arzhang Davoodi is feared to have been tortured and ill-treated since being transferred on 27 June to Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison which is believed to be under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence.

“Not only is Arzhang Davoodi held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and association in his writings and political activism, but he now faces fresh charges after being in jail for nearly nine years,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director.

“He is a prisoner of conscience and the Iranian authorities must release him immediately and unconditionally.

“The intolerance of dissent of the Iranian authorities is such that they continue to harass Arzhang Davoodi and his family although he is already in jail.

“The Iranian authorities must also protect him from torture or other ill-treatment and provide him with all necessary medical care and allow him immediate access to his family and his lawyer.”

Davoodi has served his sentence in a number of different prisons in Iran since his detention began, including at Bandar Abbas Prison, Hormozgan Prison, 1,500 km south of his home in Tehran; Reja’i Shahr Prison and Evin Prison – including Section 209.

He has also spent lengthy periods of time in solitary confinement in Evin Prison since his arrest and has had no contact with his family since his transfer to Section 209.

Davoodi was arrested in October 2003 for participating in a documentary,Forbidden Iran, in which he spoke out about human rights violations in Iran.

Following a trial in 2005, he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and 75 lashes by the Revolutionary Court on charges related to “spreading propaganda against the system”, “establishing and directing an organization opposed to the government”, being the director of the Parto-e Hekmat Cultural Education Centre in Tehran, participating in the making of the documentary and for his writings on a secular system of governance in Iran.

His flogging sentence has not been implemented.

Majid Tavakoli Deprived of an Education Permanently

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Prisoners
Abolqasem Salvati, Ali Tavakoli, Majid Tavakoli

HRANA News Agency – Judge Abolqasem Salvati presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, has issue an order to deprive Majid Tavakoli from an education permanently.This verdict was delivered in reply to a request filed by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran in 2009.

According to a report by Daneshjoo News, this new order prevents Majid Tavakoli from continuing his education while he is in prison and will deny him the right to enroll in any university throughout the country after he is released.

Following his last arrest on December 7, 2009, Majid Tavakoli was tried in the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15.During that trial, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran asked Judge Abolqasem Salvati to deprive him of an education for good.After nearly two years since the motion was filed, this request was granted by the presiding judge.

The First Visit After Four Months

Last Thursday, on September 15, 2011, Majid Tavakoli was granted the permission to see his brother, Ali Tavakoli, in prison after nearly four months.Two brothers were allowed extra 5 minutes to be together in addition to the customary 20 minutes allotted for each visit.Last time Majid Tavakoli saw his family in prison was on May 24, 2011.

Since January 2011, when political prisoners in Rajai-Shahr Prison were transferred to a separate ward, they have been denied phone communication with the outside world.The authorities didn’t even allow Majid Tavakoli to phone his family during the Persian New Year celebrations.Despite her repeated requests from the judiciary and prison officials, Majid Tavakoli’s mother has been denied any contact with him.Due to illness, she is unable to travel and has not seen her son since December 7, 2009.

Affirming Last Year’s Message on the Eve of Commencements

Majid Tavakoli has once more emphasized the importance of points mentioned in his letter issued before universities were reopened last year.In this statement, he wrote, “Accordingly, universities have become people’s hope as if there is a covenant bestowed upon them by students:A pledge to keep freedom alive and to bring happiness to each home; a promise to expose violence such that it will be allowed to neither exist nor resurface again; a covenant to tear apart the chains restricting freedom of speech, beliefs and thoughts; an oath to amplify and spread friendship and empathy; a vow to make allowances for each other and respect one another; a pact to attain liberty, justice, democracy, peace, human rights, morality and humanity all at once.”

“People hold an unfaltering covenant in their hands.Although what lies ahead for students is arduous and rigorous, I am confident that success will be achieved with determination, and the people will hold you in high regards for it.Then, even if tyranny flexes its muscles with violence and repression, it will be defeated once more.”

“September has arrived again, and a difficult year is ahead.We will have a bright future if our unity and togetherness based on our achievements and past experiences lead us to frame a covenant that gives meaning to our solidarity for freedom and resistance against tyranny.I know that a legendary saga is about to unfold once more.I know that people’s hopes will materialize.I know that we will stand side by side in liberty’s jubilee and the joy of triumph.And we will begin Septembers kindheartedly.”

 

A New Year Message from Dayeh Saltaneh, Farzad Kamangar’s Mother

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Executions, Prisoners
Dayeh Saltaneh, Farzad Kamangar

HRANA News Agency – Dayeh Saltaneh, Farzad Kamangar’s mother, has released a message on the occasion of Nowruz [the Persian New Year]. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has translated this message from Kurdish to Farsi and released it. The exact message reads as follows:

Last Nowruz, when I went to Evin Prison anticipating my son’s release, he was saying to me with high hopes, “Mother, Nowruz will certainly be the day of freedom, and we will celebrate it together.” Alas, they took my child from me.

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No information about Milad Dehghan, from his arrest up to now

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Prisoners
Hojat Kalashi, Milad dehghan, Ozhen Akbari, Reza Kermani

HRANA News Agency – There is no information about political activist, Milad dehghan, a member of Pan-Iranist Party who was arrested in Ahwaz on Sunday, December 9, 2012.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Milad dehghan, a member of Pan-Iranist Party was arrested in Ahwaz and at the same time the houses of his father and his uncle were searched by security forces and they seized his personal things.
There is no more information about his charge(s) and the place he has been held, up to now.
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Two Baha’i Infants Imprisoned with Their Mothers Transferred to Hospital

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Prisoners
Taraneh Torabi, Zahra Nik-A’in

HRANA News Agency – Two Baha’i infants imprisoned with their mothers in Semnan Prison, were transferred to hospital due to health deterioration.
According to the reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Two Baha’i infants suffering from lung and ear infections, imprisoned with their mothers in Semnan prison’s Women Ward (one of the worst prisons in Iran), were transferred to hospital.
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