Daneshpour Family: 7 Years of Imprisonment on Death Row

HRANA News Agency – Mohsen Daneshpoor and his son and Ahmad Daneshpoor, Motahereh Bahrami and Raihaneh Haj Ibrahim Dabagh, are members of a family who had been arrested along with their family friend, Hadi Ghaemi in 2009 and sentenced to death after a month. During the past 7 years that Mohsen and Ahmad Daneshpoor Moghadam are in prison, they have been diagnosed with many severe diseases like intestinal inflammation, IBS, and intestinal colitis. It is said that the medical commission has discussed their condition. Sometimes ago, Raihaneh Haj Ibrahim Dabagh was sent to furlough.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Mohsen and Ahmad Daneshpoor Moghadam, political prisoners of ward number 350 of Evin prison, are in an undecided condition after 7 years of serving under the shadow of execution.
The medical commission has discuss the condition of these political prisoners on Saturday, June 10.
After years since their primary sentence was issued and their request for appeal and retrial, the judiciary is denying their appeal, saying that the case “is lost.”
This is while Ahmad Daneshpoor is nursing his 72-year-old father, despite his own illness.
Raihaneh Haj Ibram Dabagh, wife of Ahmad Daneshpoor, is another defendant in this case who is suffering from IBS and intestinal colitis. She who has a sentence of 15 years in prison and has served half of is, could receive parole. This prisoner was sent to furlough about a month ago.
According to the new Islamic penal code passed in 2013, definitions of waging war, corruption, and armed riot mentioned in articles 279 to 288 were changed. According to section B of article number 10 of Islamic penal code, passed in 2013, the judge has to issue the sentence according to most updated laws, during or before the execution of the sentence and verdict to be modified accordingly. In addition, defendants can ask the court for parole according to new rules.
It should be noted that Ahmad Daneshpour Moghaddam, born in 1970, his wife, Reihaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabbagh, born in 1981, his father, Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam, born in 1944, his mother, Motahareh Bahrami Haghighi, born in 1954, along with Hadi Ghaemi, a family friend were arrested by the security guards at their house on December 28, 2009, and less than a month later, they were tried by a lower court without their own lawyer and with a public defender and all were sentenced to death by judge Salvati, on January 16, 2010.
These detainees were held in solitary confinement in ward 209 of Evin prison incommunicado until the court verdict was issued.
The Court of Appeal reduced the verdict for Reihaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabbagh to 15 years imprisonment and exile to Rajai Shahr prison, Motahareh Bahrami to 10 years imprisonment and exile to Rajai Shahr prison, Hadi Ghaemi to 15 years imprisonment and exile to Gonabad, in May 2010. However, Ahmad and Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam’s verdict is still pending, after the announcement of the death sentence by the lower court and has not been sent to the Court of Appeal yet.
After 4 years of follow- up in June 2016, their relatives found out that their cases are under the authority of the head of the judiciary.
Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam, 72, was admitted for surgery on the knee in Tehran Sina Hospital, in September 2016.
Previously, many attempts have been made to hire a lawyer for the father and son, but each time by saying that “this is a death penalty which does not need a lawyer”, power of attorney has been rejected by the judge. More than 10 prominent lawyers who represented Reihaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabbagh and two other defendants, have sent power of attorney for them, but every time they sent a proxy, it was returned, and after the lawyer followed up, he was threatened that if he would insist, he would be arrested, and they forced him to retire from their cases.
The 2 men are not able to take advantage of going on leave, requesting for a retrial, imprisonment punishment intolerance request, and even the use of the facilities provided by the law for older prisoners, including parole which applies just because of being held in the uncertainty condition.
Hadi Ghaemi was exiled to Gorgan prison in 2010, and then he was returned again to Evin prison in 2015, and despite aging and suffering from different disease, his request for leave, even when his mother passed away, has never been accepted.
Yousuf Ghaemi, son of Hadi Ghaemi said: “The Supreme Court ordered a review of the case of this political prisoner and stopping the execution, but the Court of Appeal has refused to stop his sentence”, and now, his father’s case has been referred for a review to Branch 54 of the Appeals Court as a “parallel branch”, while “Mr. Babai”, the current head of this branch was formerly head of another branch of the Court of Appeal, which had issued a 15-year imprisonment sentence for Hadi Ghaemi.
Motahareh Bahrami was exiled to Rajai Shahr prison in November 2010 and Reihaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabbagh in May 2011. They were transferred to Qarchak prison on May 3, 2011, and they were returned to Evin prison, about two weeks later.
According to the doctors, Reihaneh has got IBS and intestinal colitis, because of stress and pressure on her and she is suffering from this disease since 2011. She is fighting with the pain only with pain killers and that is because of lack of access to special diet. However, due to lack of specialized treatment for her disease, she is just getting sedatives injections and according to the doctors, her disease is getting worse, day-to-day.
Ahmad Daneshpour Moghaddam got colitis disease in 2012, and he is still suffering from this incurable disease, due to lack of proper diet and use of strong chemical drugs. This disease which is eligible for “imprisonment intolerance order”, has been repeatedly mentioned in his case and even according to the doctors, it may even become a cancer.
Motahareh Bahrami had got the “sentence stopping order”, after two or three times going on leave due to multiple joints diseases, but after one year she was informed of her exile order in the city of Karaj (her current location).
It should be noted that the family of Daneshpur were arrested on charges of traveling to Ashraf (former headquarters of the PMOI in Iraq) to meet the son and brother of Mohsen Daneshpour, just for a few days in 2008, and connection with these people in Ashura 2009.  Reihaneh was arrested only because of the connection with the PMOI and Hadi Ghaemi also because of being imprisoned along with Mohsen Daneshpour in 1981 and on suspicion of collaboration with them.
Reihaneh’s father had been held in prison in an undecided condition for 4 year, in 1980’s. It should be noted that Mohsen’s two brothers were also executed in 1980’s.

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