April 28, 2010
HRA News Agency – Issuing death sentences for those charged with “Waging War against God” for disputing the election results is one of the methods used by the judges of the Revolutionary Courts to intimidate the public.
Continue reading “Masumeh Yavari One Step Away from the Gallows”
HRANA News Agency – On June 28, 2011, Iranian Supreme Court confirmed Yosef Nadarkhani’s death penalty and refused his objection to the sentence issued by the lower court.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Yosef Nadarkhani has been charged with apostasy at the age of nineteen and converting to Christianity.Iranian judicial authorities also state that Yosef Nadarkhani has preached Christianity for years.
Accordingly, Gilan Province Court, Branch 11, has sentenced Yosef Nadarkhani to death penalty on charges of apostasy and preaching Christianity.
Yosef Nadarkhani has been locked up in Rasht Prison since October 12, 2009.If the death penalty is carried out, it will be the first official hanging for apostasy and conversation to Christianity in the last twenty years.
On December 3, 1990, Pastor Hussein Sodmand was hanged in Mashhad Prison for refusing to give up his Christian faith.Pastor Sodmand is the only priest who has been officially executed by the Islamic Judiciary Branch for apostasy and conversation to Christianity.
Further reports will be released when more details become available.
HRANA News Agency – Political prisoner Majid Dori’s health is fast deteriorating while officials in Behbahan Prison continue to deny him the necessary medical care.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), although Majid Dori suffers from migraines and anemia and needs to be treated by a specialist, prison officials refuse to transfer him to a hospital outside the prison.
In an interview with HRANA, one of Majid Dori’s family members reported that the officials have turned down the family’s request to transfer Majid to one of the prisons in Tehran.
In one of his letters written from prison, Majid Dori described his situation and wrote, “I have not only been behind bars since July 9, 2009, they have also given me the court’s verdict sentencing and exiling me to 6 years in prison so that I forego my youth and make myself ready to face an unfair and unjust imprisonment as far from the smallest amount of fairness as possible.The judges condemned me to spend this prison term behind bars in the city of Izeh.It was as if Intelligence Agency’s interrogators had forgotten to tell the judges that Izeh had no prisons.Inevitably, I had to be exiled to another prison with the lowest and smallest amount of standards possible, a prison situated in the worst climate under primitive conditions similar to that of the Dark Ages.”
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HRANA News Agency – Ali Ajami is an imprisoned student activist who is spending the last days of his two year sentence in Rajai-Shahr Prison.During his incarceration, Ali Ajami has been denied basic rights including access to telephone and furlough granted to political prisoners.Incapable of traveling the long distance between their residence and Rajai-Shahr Prison in Karaj every week, Ali Ajami’s elderly parents see their child every four months.Ali Ajami’s family lives in Sabzevar County in the north eastern province of Razavi Khorasan.
In an interview with Jaras News, Javad Ajami explained his brother’s condition in prison and said, “I saw my brother 20 days ago.Since then, I don’t have any news from him.We live in Sabzevar County and must travel the long distance from home to the city of Karaj for 20 minutes of visit with him.For this reason, we can’t make the trip every week.My parents are old and can’t bear the physical hardship.They came to see Ali three months ago.The officials must understand how difficult it is for my parents and how much they suffer from not being able to see Ali.”
Ali Ajami is a law student at Tehran University, a leftist activist and the editor of a student publication called “A Better World.”Ali Ajami was amongst the students who sustained some injuries when Basij Militia attacked the dormitories in Tehran University on June 14, 2009.
Ali Ajami was arrested on February 10, 2010 at home in Sabzevar County and taken to a detention center in the city of Sabzevar.He was then transferred to a solitary confinement in Ward 209 in Evin Prison where he spent 100 days in a legal state of limbo.On January 26, 2011, Ali Ajami was taken to Rajai-Shahr Prison where he has been forced to tolerate very difficult conditions during the last few months of his sentence.Ali Ajami has less than 3 months left of his prison term.
Judge Abolqasem Salvati presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, sentenced Ali Ajami to 4 years in prison on charges of “Propaganda and Conspiracy Against the Regime,” but this verdict was later reduced to 2 years by the Appeals Court of Tehran Province.
Expressing concerns about his brother’s condition, Javad Ajami said, “Ali was studying law, and he had only 3 months left to graduate when they arrested him in Sabzevar.He was transferred to Mashhad Prison first and then taken to Evin when he was convicted.He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but the Appeals Court overturned this verdict and reduced his sentence to 2 years in prison on charges of Propaganda Against the Regime.He has been in prison one year and 8 months.He has served 8 months in Rajai-Shahr Prison.I swore to God; our predicament is so painful and unbearable that I really don’t know what to say or which pain to describe.”
Yesterday, the families of political prisoners reported that new restrictions had been imposed on the inmates.The families say that prisoners are beaten and battered regularly these days in Rajai-Shahr Prison, and political prisoners are harassed by prison officials and guards for any excuses.Lately, it was reported that Masoud Bastani, an imprisoned journalist, was beaten by the prison guards in Rajai-Shahr Prison in front of his mother and wife.Last week, while Ali Ajami and Jafar Eghdami were being taken to the prison hospital, they were beaten by prison guards, and when the prisoners objected to the beating, both of them were sent to solitary confinement.
Pointing out the horrific conditions in Rajai-Shahr Prison, Javad Ajami added, “The situation in Rajai-Shahr Prison is extremely poor.Since Ali was transferred there, he has been very upset and is under pressure because political prisoners are mixed with ordinary inmates convicted of a variety of crimes.Since then, his physical health has suffered; medical problems aren’t handled in prison, and there is no recourse available.When he was in Evin, conditions were a bit better there.In our last visit, I noticed Ali was ill, had a swelling and wasn’t emotionally well either.Ali didn’t have any physical problems before his imprisonment and was totally healthy.”
Emphasizing that his brother has been denied any rights granted to political prisoners, Java Ajami continued, “During his incarceration, Ali hasn’t been given furlough.No matter how hard he and we have tried, there has been no answer.We wrote letters to the prosecutor’s office but received no reply.We really don’t know what to do and appeal to which government office to ask for our loved one’s basic rights.Ali has been denied the right to have access to a phone, to have in-person visits with his family or go on furlough.During all this time, we have been given the permission to see him in-person only once.”
Addressing government officials, Java Ajami at the end said, “If anyone hears the voices of Ali’s elderly parents and understands their pain, give him a furlough or at least grant us the permission to see him in person once more so that my parents suffer less and experience the joy of embracing Ali in their arms.”
In a letter written to the Head of the Judiciary Branch, a group of political prisoners in Rajai-Shahr Prison have revealed accounts of being insulted, belittled and physically punished by prison officials and have requested a special committee to be appointed to interview the prisoners and investigate all the allegations.
In this letter, political prisoners of Rajai-Shahr Prison wrote, “Only in the last six months, eight political prisoners in Hall 12 have been insulted, belittled and beaten in various ways.Unfortunately, every time one of these prisoners decided to seek justice by protesting against these acts, he was set up by the guards and accused of some sort of crime.Consequently, the prisoners were forced to withdraw their objections fearing new charges that would have increased their prison terms.”
HRANA News Agency – Last week, a large number of intelligence agents in Evin Prison unexpectedly raided political prisoners’ Ward 350.During this raid, intelligence agents searched and damaged inmates’ personal belongings.Ward 350 in Evin Prison currently houses more than 160 political prisoners.
According to a report by Kaleme News, each prison cell in Ward 350 measures approximately 98 square feet and houses 16-20 prisoners.Fifteen intelligence agents raided these prison cells last week and violently searched through personal effects of prisoners and their basic supplies needed for daily life.
When visiting with their families, political prisoners reported that during this raid, their clothing and bedding were thrown out of the ward and searched thoroughly such that three days afterwards, inmates were still cleaning up the mayhem, destruction and confusion caused by this attack.Books were taken off the shelves or from underneath beds, were thrown in the middle of cells or into corridors and torn.These books were sent to prisoners gradually during the last two years at their families’ expenses.Some of the books were language training manuals or course materials used by imprisoned students.
Three weeks ago, it was reported that prison officials had permitted political prisoners to have a DVD player in their ward.Non political prisoners including those in Ward 7 and 8 have had a DVD player for years and have been able to watch movies purchased from the prison shop.During the most recent raid, intelligence agents seized the DVD player from Ward 350.
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HRANA News Agency – A number of social activists have been beaten and battered by Iranian security forces in Tabriz Prison.These individuals were arrested in recent weeks following demonstrations to save Lake Urmia.
According to a report by Daneshjoo News, 110 activists have been arrested following protests against Iranian government policies towards Lake Urmia.These detainees are in poor physical condition and have been transferred to the quarantine ward of Tabriz Prison due to lack of space in detention centers.Latest reports indicate that a number of social activists have been beaten and battered by security forces in prison.Those beaten are activists who were arrested on August 24, 2011 in Tabriz while they broke their fast during Ramadan with an evening meal called Iftar.
Currently, 110 social activists are kept behind bars in the quarantine ward of Tabriz Prison under substandard, inhuman conditions.
Ghader Norouzi, Vahid Ali Mardai and Farzad Mahdavi have been severely injured during these beatings, and concerns have been raised about their wellbeing.In response to a complaint filed by these social activists against security agents responsible for the beatings, all three of them have been transferred to the Intelligence Agency’s detention center where no news of them may be obtained.
Ghader Norouzi, Vahid Ali Mardai and Farzad Mahdavi together with 26 other social activists from Azerbaijan were arrested on August 24, 2011 in Tabriz during an Iftar gathering.
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HRANA News Agency – Abdollah Sadoughi, an Azerbaijani social activity, is suffering from stomach bleeding following 17 days of hunger strike.He was arrested on August 24, 2011 together with 30 other activists in Tabriz while they broke their fast during Ramadan with an evening meal called Iftar.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on August 24, 2011, a group of 30 activists were gathered in Mostafa Avazpour’s house in Tabriz in order to break their fast and discuss the failure of Iranian Parliament to adopt measures to stem the gradual drying of Lake Orumieh.Intelligence and security forces raided this gathering and arrested everyone.
Currently, fifteen individuals who were amongst those detained have been tried without being presented by counsel and sentenced to 2 years and 4 months in prison with 2 years of this prison term suspended.Fifteen other individuals are still in a legal state of limbo.
Abdollah Sadoughi’s brother talked with Radio Farda about this hunger strike and said, “Since August 24th when he was arrested, he has been on hunger strike in Intelligence Agency’s detention center.His hunger strike has led to stomach bleeding, and he has been taken to the prison medical clinic.”Abdollah Sadoughi’s brother also confirmed that although the hunger strike had to end, his brother is still not able to eat any food.
Abdollah Sadoughi’s brother added that he has visited Abdollah in prison once, and without an arraignment, an order to imprison Abdollah for one month has been issued.
According to various reports, in addition to Abdollah Sadoughi, at least two other Azerbaijani activists who were arrested on August 24, 2011 are on hunger strike. These activists have been identified to be Mosa Barzin Khalifehlou and Mehdi Hamidi Shafiegh.Mosa Barzin Khalifehlou is an attorney who has previously defended a number of social activists throughout Iran.
During an interview with Radio Farda, Mehdi Hamidi Shafiegh’s brother said, “We haven’t been able to contact Mehdi directly so far and hear about his current condition from his own lips.However, his friends who were with Mehdi in Intelligence Agency’s detention center, after being transferred to Tabriz Prison, have told us that Mehdi was on hunger strike.”
Despite repeated inquires from the judiciary, the investigation unit and other government entities, Mehdi Hamidi Shafiegh’s family still has not been given any accurate information about his current condition.Mehdi Hamidi Shafiegh’s brother has reported that in addition to Mehdi, four other activists remain in the Intelligence Agency’s custody and have not yet been transferred to prison.
Jamshid Zaraie, Taghi Salahshour and Vahid Shiakh Baglo are still in Intelligence Agency’s detention center while no information has been given to their families.Investigators have told one of the families of these individuals that they will remain in Intelligence Agency’s custody for two more weeks.
Since August 26, 2011, demonstrations against government’s policies towards Lake Orumieh have continued.According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Iranian security forces in eastern and western Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces have arrested hundreds of people. After protests escalated, the Iranian government announced that a 950 million dollar budget has been allocated to restore Lake Orumieh.
Lake Orumieh has lost half of its water thus far.In some parts of the lake, water has receded as much as 10 Kilometers.It has been estimated that Lake Orumieh will dry out completely in three years if the current trend continues.Mohammad Bagher Sadogh, Deputy of Natural Environment in Iran’s Environmental Protection Agency, has said, “As a result, 10 billion tons of salt in the form of a dust storm will descend upon 6 million residents of the surrounding regions.”
May 4, 2010
HRA News Agency – Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court issued a total of eight years of prison for two individuals, who disputed the election results.
Continue reading “Two Individuals Who Disputed the Election Results Were Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison”
HRANA News Agency – Ramin Yaghoubi died in hospital after he was arrested and beaten by Iranian police force.He was a resident of Darrud in Lorestan Province.
On July 14, 2011, Iranian police officers raided a house in Darrud County and arrested a number of young individuals who had attended a non political gathering.After a few hours, all detainees except one were released on bail.Since Ramin (Mohammad) Yaghoubi couldn’t afford to post bail, he remained in police custody.
On the following morning, Intelligence Agency’s Special Unit picked up Ramin Yaghoubi in order to transport him to the court house to be arraigned.However, Ramin Yaghoubi was beaten severely and then delivered to prison officials in critical condition. From prison, he was taken to a hospital where he died five hours after being admitted for urgent medical care.
In an interview with Jaras News, Ramin Yaghoubi’s mother said, “In a matter of hours, they took my son who had committed no crime and killed him.Ramin was a guest in his friend’s house.He was arrested and taken to Police Station #11 together with others.Everyone was released except Ramin.He remained in the detention center.At 4:00pm, Ramin called me and said that he was arrested.I took some juice for him.At 12:00am, I also took food and some fruit with me to prison and stayed there with him until 2:00am.My innocent son was healthy then.”
“Next day, Intelligence Agency’s Special Unit took custody of him at 8:00am.Before taking him to see the judge, they beat him so severely that he didn’t have the strength to talk when he faced the judge.Then, the judge sentenced him to one week in prison.When Ramin was taken to jail, the warden made an observation and stated that my son wasn’t feeling well at all.However, the judge ordered the prison officials to take custody of Ramin according to a verdict issued by the judiciary.”
“Ramin became very ill while in prison.At 4:30pm, he was transferred to a hospital.I am upset because no one informed his family.At 11:00pm, they called us, and we went to the hospital where they delivered his lifeless body to us.”
Ramin Yaghoubi’s mother further explained, “My heart aches because Ramin was plain and modest.He had committed no crimes.He wasn’t political; he was neither a drug addict nor a smuggler. He had no criminal record.He was arrested only because he was a guest in his friend’s house.Then they beat him so badly that he lost his life.I swore to God that I am losing my mind wondering why this innocent child was murdered.When I went to the hospital, I saw Ramin’s lifeless body.I didn’t recognize him at all.His back, head and face were bruised; all black and blue.The night before, I had taken dinner for him to prison; he was healthy then, but after only one night, his corpse was lying on a hospital bed in such condition.”
“Ten minutes before Ramin died, they told us to pay the hospital bill for the Intensive Care Unit.So we did.Ten minutes later, they said that our child passed away!I suppose they took him to the ICU just because they could claim that Ramin died there.They knew what they had done would cost him his life.”
To explain the cause of his son’s death, Ramin Yaghoubi’s mother said, “We live in Darrud County, Lorestan Province.The Prosecutor in town told us that my son’s body had to be sent to the medical examiner in Tehran or Ahvaz for a period of one week.At the time, we were so upset that Ramin’s father didn’t give his consent.We know there are medical examiners in Khoramabad and Borujerd.”
“Threatening and harassing us, they put so much pressure on us that we were forced to bury him quickly.In the hospital report, one physician noted that Ramin had convulsions; another one wrote that he died of drug intoxication.Yet, the third one reported that his death was due to a heart attack.Nevertheless, we have pictures of our son’s body covered with bruises, black and blue.”
To explain what the family has done in order to identify and punish those responsible for her son’s death, Ramin Yaghoubi’s mother stated, “We have filed a complaint against two intelligence agents who took custody of Ramin when he was in good health.There have been no answers yet.We can’t do anything but be patient; we don’t have much power to confront the government and can’t afford hiring an attorney.We can only ask God to deliver us justice.”
At the end, Ramin Yaghoubi’s mother said, “They took my 23 year old, young son from me.I ask the authorities to do something so that this won’t happen to others.Also, murderers must be punished according to the law.My innocent child had committed no crime.”
“How long must we tolerate insecure and unsafe conditions?How long are they going to beat and kill our youth and then deliver their corpses to us?Is this the meaning of security?My heart aches from the pain of losing my beloved murdered innocently.What else can I say?You know what a mother and a father have to go through when their son has been killed like this.”
“We just visit his grave to calm down.Returning again, we ask God for justice.”
HRANA News Agency – Political prisoner Misagh Yazdan Nejad has been denied medical care by judicial and prison authorities.Currently, he is behind bars in critical condition in Rajai-Shahr Prison.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), although the medical examiner and the medical commission have recommended to the prosecutor and prison officials that Misagh Yazdan Nejad needs to undergo a surgery, nothing has been done thus far.
