A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for January 18, 2019

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 18th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2019 “Iranian authorities carried out arbitrary mass arrests and serious due process violations during 2018 in response to protests across the country over deteriorating economic conditions, perceptions of corruption, and the lack of political and social freedoms. Authorities tightened their grip on peaceful activism, detaining lawyers, human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists.”

(2) Mohammad Dorosti, Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activist, has been tried in absentia and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was charged with “propaganda against the state”.

(3) Kurdistan’s appeals court was summoned a trade unionist, Yadollah Samadi on the charge of “propaganda against the state” and “membership in the opposition groups”. He is the head of the Syndicate of Workers of Sanandaj Bakers.

(4) Salman Afra was released on bail in Marivan. He was detained for two months on the charge of “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”. Moreover, Ata Rahmanzadeh was arrested and transferred to Saqqez prison to serve his three months sentence.

(5) Alireza Tavakoli, a detained cyber activist, was release from Evin prison after finishing his two and a half years prison term. He was suffering from severe diseases during his time in prison and was denied access to medical care.

(6) The prisoners’ fight in Urmia prison which was galvanized by the authorities of prison, was caused multiple injuries. Several Sunni prisoners, Ahmad Ghanbardoust, Mohammad Ghanbardoust, Mohammad Hosseinpour, Adel Salimi, and Pouria Azadtoosi who were sentenced to five years imprisonment, Rasoul Shiri, Mohammad Shiri, and Ebrahim Moradi who were sentenced to three years in prison, and Mohammad Nikzad who was sentenced to one and a half year imprisonment, have been injured in Urmia prison.

(7) Mehdi Khanipour, a political prisoner in Ahvaz Sheiban prison, began his hunger strike to protest the refusal of his request to attend at his father’s funeral. He was arrested in 2014 and was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment. He is accused of “Moharebeh” by being a member of Al-Ahwazieh group.

(8) Amir Amirgholi, political prisoner and member of “Gam” editorial board was transferred to Evin prison, section 209. Amir Hossein Mohammadifar and Sanaz Allahyari, the editors of Gam, were arrested on January 9, 2019.

(9) Two Iranian-Americans, Emad Sharghi and Bahareh Amidi, had been arrested in March on the espionage-related charges. They were released on bail after nine months but still under a travel ban. Sharghi is a businessman and the founder of Dubex Company.

(10) After prosecutor general, has called Esmail Bakhshi tortures in prison, ‘the rumors’, Hassan Sadeghi, a political prisoner, wrote about his experience of several years of mistreatment and torture such as Falanga torture (beatings on the foot soles) in prison which caused him severe diseases.

(11) A 33-year-old worker of Dezful Steel Company had a fatal fall in his workplace. Another worker in Bafq died because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions in the workplace.

(12) Saeed Shirzad, a political prisoner in Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, has been refused urgent medical care despite doctors requested his transfer to hospital for his severe kidneys’ failure a month ago. While the prosecutor’s office has assured that he would receive treatment, prison authorities have prevented this transfer.

(13) Kourosh Karampour, a teacher and a poet, was released on bail on Tuesday. He was beaten and arrested in Abadan, because of his interviews in support of teachers’ strikes and protests in the last few months. More than thousand writers and civil rights activists issued a statement expressing concern about his situation earlier.

Five Sentenced in Connection to 2017 Armed Attack in Tehran

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- Five Sunni prisoners detained in connection to a 2017 attack on both Iranian Parliament and the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s mausoleum have been sentenced to prison terms in Branch 2 of Urmia Revolutionary Court.

HRANA has confirmed the identity of the prisoners as Ebrahim Moradi, Mohammad Nikzad, Ahmad Ghanbardoust, Mohammad Ghanbardoust, and Ghader Salimi. They have been held in Urmia Prison’s Ward 13 since their arrests one week after the attack.

An informed source detailed their sentences to HRANA: Moradi was sentenced to three years; Nikzad to nine months, Ahmad Ghanbardoust to three years; Mohammad Ghanbardoust to four years; and Salimi to five years. All were charged with “collaboration with ‘Takfiri’ groups [a term commonly used by Iranian authorities to denote Daesh (ISIS) sympathizers].”

The attack in question, which took place on June 7, 2017, injured 52 and took the lives of 17 civilians and parliamentary security agents. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two days later, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence announced that 41 people had been arrested on suspicion of ISIS collaboration in Tehran, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan provinces. Local sources counter that the total number of arrestees was closer to 70. As of now, HRANA has no further information on the arrestee’s interrogations, wellbeing, or access to due process.

Eight people accused of ISIS affiliation were executed July 7, 2018, on charges of “Baqi” [rebellion] and “abetting corruption on earth.” All had been sentenced to death in May 2018 by Judge Salavati of Revolutionary Court Branch 15, a sentence later upheld in Branch 39 of the Supreme Court on June 10, 2018.

Two Detained Students Transferred to Orumieh Prison

HRANA News Agency – Ebrahim Moradi and Matin Khaledi are two students who were arrested in January protests and transferred to the Orumieh prison after completing the interrogation process. They have been charged with spreading propaganda against the regime and are currently being held at the Youth Ward of the Central Prison of Orumieh.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Ebrahim Moradi and Matin Khaledi are two students who were arrested in late December last year. Continue reading “Two Detained Students Transferred to Orumieh Prison”