Reza Mehregan on a Hunger Strike in Evin Prison

On Saturday, August 14, civil activist Reza Mehregan went on a hunger strike in Evin Prison, where he is currently serving out a 5 year sentence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of  Human Rights Activists, Mehregan began the hunger strike to protest his transfer to quarantine despite having received a negative corona test result.

Mr. Mehregan was sent on a five-day leave of absence from Evin Prison on Saturday, August 7, and returned to prison at the end of his leave.

Mehregan suffers from heart disease and high blood pressure, and although previously he was  permitted to be sent on medical leave, he had remained in prison as he was not able to provide the required bail.

In December 2019, the Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Iman Afshari sentenced Mr. Mehregan to 5 years in prison on the charge of conspiracy against national security, to 1 year in prison on a charge of propaganda activities against the regime, to 1 year in prison and 74 lashes for disturbing public order, and to 2 years of compulsory reside in the Jafarabad district of Arian Shahr in South Khorasan Province.

The sentence was later reduced by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided by Judge Ahmad Zargar, to six years in prison from which 5 years imprisonment is enforceable to Mr. Mehregan, after applying Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code.

Reza Mehregan, along with Mohammad Abolhassani, another civil activist, was sent from Evin Prison to Branch 2 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Judge Haji Moradi, in December 2020, in connection with another case against them. The two civil activists were charged with holding a funeral of the victims of the November 2019 nationwide protests in prison.

Court of Appeals Sentences Keyvan Samimi to 2 Years in Prison

Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been sentenced to two years in prison after a court of appeals overturned the Supreme Court’s  decision to resume Samimi’s case.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Ensaf News, Samimi is the editor of Iran-e- Farda newspaper and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association.

Mr. Samimi had previously endured six years in prison in 2009 for questioning the 2009 presidential election, participating in protests, and writing articles critical of the Islamic Regime. He is currently being held in Evin Prison, where he has been imprisoned since his arrest on International Workers’ Day in 2019.

Samimi was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, to three years in prison on charges of conspiracy to act against the security of the country. This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar.

Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Samimi’s lawyer, said that the Supreme Court accepted the resumption of Mr. Samimi’s trial, but when his case was sent to the Branch 54 of the Court of Appeals, the decision was reversed.

“The judge did not accept the opinion of the Supreme Court,” Behzadi-Rad said, “and they only reduced the three-year imprisonment sentence to two years.”

Alireza Farshi Transferred from Greater Tehran Prison to Loghman Hakim Hospital

On Tuesday, June 29th, Azerbaijani Turk activist Alireza Farshi Dizaj Yakan was finally transferred to a hospital after facing prolonged medical negligence in the Greater Tehran Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mr. Farshi, who was in the midst of a 2 year sentence in the Greater Tehran Prison, was sentenced last month to an additional four years and two months by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Farshi has suffered from high blood sugar, an infection in his left eye, and numbness in his right hand. The lack of proper treatment of the prisoner’s diabetes has caused tremors in his body. He was eventually transferred to the endocrinology and metabolism department of Loghman Hakim Hospital for medical examinations and tests.
Alireza Farshi is from Marand City in East Azerbaijan. He has a master’s degree in computer engineering from Sharif University of Technology.
Mr. Farshi, while serving a two-year sentence in the Greater Tehran Prison, was recently sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to a total of over 4 more years. On February 27, Farshi’s interrogation session was held virtually in the Third Branch of Evin Court. He was informed of the meeting less than 12 hours before it was set to take place.
The verdicts issued in June of this year were upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar .
The Azerbaijani Turk activist suffered eye injuries during his time in prison and was sent on a three-day medical leave from Greater Tehran Prison on Saturday, May 7. But  despite the insistence of his ophthalmologist on the urgent need for eye surgery on this prisoner, prison officials refused to extend his leave.
The report does not specify Farshi’s current condition in Loghman Hakim Hospital.