Category: Prisoners

Civil Rights Activist Peyman Sokooti Still in Detention  

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Gilaki Civil Rights Activist, irgc, Lakan prison, Peyman Sokooti

Gilaki civil rights activist Peyman Sokooti has been detained for the past three months in Lakan Prison, awaiting due process while he is denied access to a lawyer.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, civil rights activist from Gilan Province Peyman Sokooti has been detained for three months.

Sokooti has been charged with “acting against national security through membership in anti-regime groups, insulting the Supreme Leader and propaganda against the regime”.

On May 23, 2022, security forces arrested Sokooti, held him for ten days in an IRGC detention facility, and then transferred him to Lakan Prison in Rasht.

Political Prisoner Masoumeh Askari Assaulted in Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners, Women
Evin Prison, Masoumeh Askari, Qarchak Prison

Retired teacher and political prisoner Masoumeh Askari was beaten by the prisoners of violent crime in Kachooie Prison. The prison officials purposely hold political prisoners in the same ward as the prisoners of violent crime, which is a violation of prison rules and exposes the political prisoners to life-threatening violence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Masoumeh Askari was beaten by eight prisoners of violent crime.

An informed source told HRANA that about four days ago, eight prisoners of violent crimes assaulted Askari. She suffers from psychiatric diseases, kidney, liver and diabetes. Prison officials refused to send her to a healthcare facility to assess her condition.

On August 2, 2018, security forces arrested Askari in Tehran and transferred her to Qarchak Prison in Varamin. After a few days, she was released on bail.

Askari was arrested in December of 2018 and was detained for one month in Ward 209 of Evin Prison and later transferred to the public ward. The Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion.” This verdict was upheld on appeal. 

Askari is a retired teacher and single mother.

Sa’ada Khadirzadeh Commited Suicide in Urmia Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Piranshahr, Sa'ada Khadirzadeh, Urmia

On August 18, 2022, Sa’ada Khadirzadeh attempted suicide in Urmia Prison. According to unverified sources, she has also tried to kill her infant child with pills before committing suicide. Two days earlier, she was interrogated by intelligence agents. 

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on August 18, 2022, Sa’ada Khadirzadeh committed suicide in Urmia Prison.

Currently, she and her infant child are under treatment in the prison infirmary.

Khadirzadeh tried to hang herself with her scarf. She also tried to kill her infant child with pills, which HRANA cannot verify independently.

On October 14, 2021, security forces arrested Khadirzadeh in Piranshahr.

On June 20, 2022, she conceived a child at a hospital in Urmia.

The reason for her arrest and the charges are still unknown.

Reza Nowroozi Sentenced to 74 Lashes

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Kachooie Revolutionary Court, Reza Nowroozi, Sarab

The Kachooie Revolutionary Court sentenced political prisoner Reza Nowroozi to 74 lashes and a fine. While Nowroozi was serving his sentence in Evin Prison, he was charged with “disrupting prison order” as well delivered to Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Reza Nowroozi was sentenced to 74 lashes and an 18 million tomans fine.

An informed source told HRANA that Nowroozi was charged with “disrupting prison order” due to his quarrel with a prison official. He has also been charged with “insulting the Supreme Leader” by the Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Nowroozi is currently serving his five-year sentence in Evin Prison.

In May of 2021, security forces arrested Nowroozi in Tehran. The Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Nowroozi to ten years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime”. This verdict was upheld on appeal. Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, five years in prison for one charge is enforceable.

Nowroozi, 32, is a resident of Sarab, East Azerbaijan Province, and a father of two.

Sunni Prisoner Hamzeh Darvish Assaulted in Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Hamzeh Darvish, sunni prisoner

Sunni Prisoner Hamzeh Darvish was beaten violently by prison guards and relocated to an unknown location in Lakan Prison in Rasht.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on August 8, 2022, prison officials assaulted Sunni Prisoner Hamzeh Darvish.

Darvish suffered from heart problems and ear infections. According to an informed source close to Darvish’s family, he had asked the prison officials to take him to the prison infirmary. They refused and instead, ordered several guards to beat him with iron bars. They threatened him to death and took him to an unknown location.

“Since then, his family inquiries about Darvish’s whereabouts and his condition have remained unanswered,” said the source.

On August 25, 2020, Darvish had been beaten by intelligence agents in prison prior to this incident.

Darvish is currently serving a 15-year sentence in Lakan Prison. In March of 2022, while he was in prison, judicial authorities opened a new legal case against him and sentenced him to an additional two years and one month in prison.

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Prisoner Dies in Bam Prison for Delayed Medical Care

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Ahmad Kurd, Bam prison

On August 9, 2022, an inmate died in Bam Prison due to delayed medical care and transfer to the hospital.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Haal Vsh, on August 9, 2022, a prisoner died in Bam Prison after the prison official’s procrastination in sending the inmate to the hospital.

The inmate has been identified as Ahmad Kurd, age 52, a resident of Zahedan.

Eight years ago, he was sentenced to death for drug-related crimes, which was commuted to life imprisonment.

 

Mohammad-Reza Morad Behroozi Is Facing New Charges in Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Mohammad-Reza Morad Behroozi, Qazvin

Political Prisoner Mohammad-Reza Morad Behroozi is currently serving a one-year sentence in Qazvin Prison and the judicial authorities have opened a new case against him.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Mohammad-Reza Morad Behroozi is facing new charges, including “publishing inappropriate content on the internet”, and “propaganda against the regime”.

According to an informed source, for this new legal case, the prosecutor’s office has granted a 740 million tomans bail.

Behroozi is denied access to a lawyer and phone calls.

Behroozi was arrested on August 21, 2021, at his house following posting a video on social media in which he criticized the Supreme Leader for banning Covid-19 vaccines from other countries.

In a trial in absentia, Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Qazvin, headed by Judge Esmail Amini, sentenced Behroozi to one year in prison on the charge of “offensive statements against the Supreme Leader of Iran”.

Jafar Panahi and Amirsalar Davoudi Contracted Covid-19 in Prison 

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Amirsalar Davoudi, covid-19, Evin Prison, Jafar Panahi

Following a new outbreak of Covid-19 in Evin Prison, film director Jafar Panahi and lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi have contracted Covid-19 in captivity.

Panahi is currently held in the Quarantine Section of Evin Prison. Prison officials denied his request to be sent to a hospital and similarly,  did not grant him access to a lawyer after three weeks of detention.

Panahi was arrested on July 11 in Tehran.

Similarly, Amirsalar Davoudi has fell ill with Covid-19 symptoms, but the prison infirmary has refused to test him and provide proper medical care.

On June 26, 2022, Davoudi was taken to prison to serve a ten-year sentence. Earlier, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced him to 14 years in prison, of which, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, ten years is enforceable.

Nahid Shirpisheh Beaten by a Violent Prisoner 

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Aban protests, Nahid Shirbisheh, Pouya Bakhtiari

Nahid Shirpisheh, Pouya Bakhtiari’s mother, was beaten by a prisoner of violent crimes in Kachooie Prison in Karaj, which she was taken to on July 28, 2022. Shirpisheh became a face of resistance and most of her family were arrested since they sought justice for their son, Pouya Bakhtiari, who was killed in widespread 2019 protests. 

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Nahid Shirpisheh was beaten by a prisoner of violent crime in Kachooie Prison.

The prison officials purposely hold political prisoners in the same ward as the prisoners of violent crime, which is a violation of prison rules and exposes the political prisoners to life-threatening violence.

An informed source told HRANA that Shirpisheh was beaten by an inmate convicted of violent crimes.

On July 11, 2022, security forces arrested the mothers of the individuals killed during nationwide protests in 2019 known as Aban protests, including Nahid Shirbisheh. In a news article, IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency called these justice-seeking families “agitators and troublemakers”.

In November of 2019, an increase in fuel prices sparked a wave of protests in dozens of cities across the country. The spokesperson of the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Seyed Hossein Taghavi, announced that 7000 people were arrested during these protests. According to reports from human rights organizations, hundreds were killed by the security apparatus.

Prison Guards Assault Sunni Prisoner Arkan Palani Jaf 

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Arkan Palani Jaf, Rajai Shahr Prison

On August 2, 2022, prison guards assaulted Sunni prisoner Arkan Palani Jaf when he returned from hospital to prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, prison guards of Rajai Shahr Prison beat Sunni prisoner Arkan Palani Jaf.

An informed source told HRANA, “Palani Jaf suffers from Kidney, intestinal and stomach problems caused by a hunger strike. As a backlash to Palani Jaf’s complaint against the guards’ behavior, 10 prison guards beat him brutally.”

On June 10, 2022, Palani Jaf went on hunger strike by sewing his lips in protest against the rejection of his request for early release, medical furlough and inadequate medical care in prison. He was relocated to solitary confinement and beaten by prison guards. On June 30, Palani Jaf ended his hunger strike after the prison officials agreed to grant medical furlough.

Palani Jaf was arrested in 2016 and sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to 7 years on the charge of “collaboration with ISIS”. According to an informed source, the security agents wanted to arrest his brother and when they failed, arrested him instead despite having no evidence of his association with ISIS.