Tag: Evin

Narges Mohammadi Arrested by Security Forces in Karaj During Ceremony Honoring Ebrahim Ketabdar

Posted on by A MN
News, Other, Women
Article 134, Ebrahim Ketabdar, Evin, Evin Prison, Islamic penal code, Karaj, Ketabdar, Mohammadi, Narges Mohammadi, November 2019, November Protests, zanjan, Zanjan Prison

Prominent civil activist and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center Narges Mohammadi was arrested earlier this Tuesday during a ceremony honoring Ebrahim Ketabdar, who was killed by security forces in Karaj during the November 2019 protests.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, a gathering of the victim’s family and some civil activists at Ebrahim Ketabdar’s burial place in Karaj city turned violent after the interference of security agents, and Mohammadi was subsequently arrested.

This year, Branch 1177 of the Criminal Court in the Ghods Judicial Complex in Tehran sentenced Narges Mohammadi to 30 months in prison and 80 lashes, as well as fines. She had been charged with “propaganda against the regime through the issuance of a statement against the death penalty”, “sit-down strike at prison office”, “property destruction by breaking glass” and “libel and assault”.

According to a report published by HRANA, in an open statement, Narges Mohammadi stated of these charges that she will not, “under any circumstances”, attend any court hearing, and will refuse to accept any verdict from the judiciary courts.

From May 5, 2015, until October of last year, Narges Mohammadi was imprisoned.

In December 2019, Mohammadi and seven other political prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin Prison announced in a letter that they would go on a sit-down strike in support of bereaved families who lost loved ones in November 2019 national protests. Evin Prison officials threatened to deport her and others who participated in the strike to prisons known for their harsher conditions. Subsequently, she was punitively transferred from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison in December 2019.

Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code and the charges against her, a severest punishment of 10 years was enforceable, but after five years and six months in prison, Narges Mohammadi was finally released from Zanjan Prison. Mohammadi has since been denied a passport and barred from leaving the country to visit her husband and children even though her previous conviction did not mention a supplementary ban on international travel.

 

 

 

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh’s Request for Release on Probation Rejected

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners, Women
Aliyeh Motallebzadeh, Article 134, Branch 36, Coronavirus, covid-19, Evin, Evin Prison, Motallebzadeh, Tehran, ward 209, Ward 209 of Evin Prison, Women's rights, Women's rights activists

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh’s request for release on probation was recently rejected in a written notification by the Tehran prosecutor’s office.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the photographer and women’s rights activist is currently enduring a two-year sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran.

On November 26, 2016, Motallebzadeh was summoned to the office of the ministry of intelligence and subsequently was detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. On December 19, 2016, she was released on bail of 300 million tomans.

In 2017, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Motallebzadeh to three years in prison on charges of  “assembly and collusion to act against national security” and “propaganda against the regime”.

This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the court of Appeals in Tehran. In the issued lawsuit, “launching and participating in women empowerment workshop in abroad” had been invoked as an example of these charges. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of two years was enforceable for her.

On October 11, 2020, Motallebzadeh arrived at Evin prison to begin her sentence, where she has been held since.

On April 26, 2021, she was punitively deprived of making phone calls after her complaints about the practice of holding detainees in solitary confinements in the prosecutor’s office of this prison.

On July 19, 2021, after contracting COVID, she was granted furlough and went on leave until August 30.

Aliyeh Motallebzadeh is a photographer, women rights activist and a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Gender Equality as well as a campaign to protect acid attack victims.

 

Workers’ Rights Activists Hirad Pirbodaghi and Asal Mohammadi Arrested by Security Forces

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Activist arrested, Asal Mohammadi, civil activist, Evin, Evin Prison, Hirad Pirbodaghi, Mohammadi, Pirbodaghi, Security forces, worker's rights

Two workers’ rights activists were arrested by security forces on Saturday, November 6.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on Saturday, Hirad Pirbodaghi and Asal Mohammadi were arrested yesterday after security forces searched their homes. Hirad Pirbodaghi made a phone call to his family earlier this morning and informed them that he is currently being held in the notorious Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Mohammadi’s situation and whereabouts are still unknown as of this writing.

An informed source told HRANA that security forced raided and searched their houses violently. Sunday morning, Hirad Pirbodaghi was notified about the charges against him, which include “assembly” and “collusion”.

Asal Mohammadi and Hirad Pirbodaghi have previously faced other arrests and convictions for their non-violent activism and worker’s rights advocacy.

Yesterday, before their arrest, Pirbodaghi and Mohammadi, along with seven other civil activists, filed a complaint in a judicial office against using solitary confinement as a tool of torture.

As of yet, the reason for these arrests is unknown.

 

Political Prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar Sentenced to Death by Revolutionary Court of Tehran

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Evin, Evin Prison, Kamran Rezaiefar, Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Rezaiefar, Tehran

Recently, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced political prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar to death. Rezaiefar’s trial began on December 28, 2020.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, political prisoner Kamran Rezaiefar has been sentenced to death on the charge of the so-called “spreading corruption on earth”. He was notified about his charges in September of this year.

In January 2020, Kamran Rezaiefar was arrested by the security forces on a charge of “association with The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (MEK)”. He was released on bail after enduring 77 days in solitary confinement in wards 240 and 209 of Evin Prison.

In June 2020, he was arrested again this time for a charge of “spreading corruption on earth” and transferred to Evin Prison.

 

Kamyar Fakoor Sentenced to Eight Months Imprisonment and Flogging

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News, Students
cash bail, Evin, Evin Prison, flogging, Inhumane punishment, Kamyar Fakoor, lashes, Mahmood Haj Moradi, Ministry of Cooperatives, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Social Welfare, Moradi

Workers’ rights activist Kamyar Fakoor was sentenced to 50 lashes, eight months imprisonment and paying a fine of 15 million tomans.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the verdict has been suspended for 5 years.

Branch 26 of the Tehran revolutionary court, headed by judge Mahmood Haj Moradi, sentenced Kamyar Fakoor to eight months in prison, 50 lashes and paying a fine of 15 million tomans on charges of “propaganda against the regime, spreading lies in the purpose to disturb public opinions and public order”.

As conditions for the sentence suspension, he will be obligated to ask permission from the judiciary before leaving the country, participate in emotional control courses, inform authorities about any changes in employment or place of residence, and avoid any political activities on social media.

On August 28, along with two other workers’ rights activists, Kamyar Fakoor was arrested during a protest of retirees and working educators in front of the building of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Ten days later, he was released from Evin Prison on bail until the end of legal proceedings.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

Arash Gangi Detained and Sent to Evin Prison to Endure 11 Year Sentence

Posted on by A MN
Prisoners
Arash Gangi, Article 134, cash bail, COVID, Evin, Evin Prison, Gangi, Islamic penal code, PEN America, Revolutionary Court of Tehran, Security forces, Tehran

On Monday, November 1, translator and board member of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA) Arash Gangi was sent to Evin Prison to endure his 11-year sentence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, recently, PEN America in a statement condemned Arash Gangi’s summons and asked for the quashing of this “wildly disproportionate” sentence.

Gangi had been previously sentenced to eleven years in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of five years is enforceable.

Following the summons he received on October 16 of this year, Arash Gangi appeared at the Executive Unit of Evin prison and from there he was sent to Evin Prison.

On December 22, 2019, the security forces raided his house, and then arrested and transferred him to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is at the disposal of the intelligence ministry.  Security agents searched his house and confiscated some of his personal belongings during the arrest.

After a while, he was transferred from the Ward 209 to the public section of Evin Prison. On January 19, 2020, he was released on a bail of 450 million tomans until the end of legal proceedings.

In the first court session, on June 14, 2020, the judge increased the bail to 3 billion tomans, and hence he was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison until providing the new bail. He was released on bail on June 21, 2020.

In the second court session, which took place on November 29, 2020, only his attorney attended the court and Mr Ganji could not appear at the court due to having COVID-19 symptoms.

Ultimately, in December 2020, the court, headed by judge Mohammad-Reza Amoozad, sentenced Gangi to five years in prison on a charge of “assembly and collusion in purpose to act against national security”, one year on a charge of “propaganda against the regime” and five years on a charge of “membership in and collaboration with one of the ant-regime groups.”, for a total of 11 years imprisonment. In February 2021, this verdict was upheld by the court of appeals of Tehran.

According to Naser Zarafshan, Mr. Gangi’s lawyer, all these charges were invoked from his translation of a book under the title of “A Small Key Can Open A Big Door: The Rojava Revolution”, which is about Kurdistan upheavals in Syria.

The non-governmental organization IWA was founded by a group of intellectual writers in 1968, originally with the objective of promoting freedom of speech and fighting against censorship.

Although IWA was banned in 1981 by the Iranian authorities, a group of writers created a “consulting assembly” to revive the banned IWA in 1993. On September 8, 1996, 12 writers who had gathered to draft a new charter for the IWA were arrested, interrogated and warned not to hold further meetings for the advancement of the IWA. Since then, the members and board members of IWA have been subject to systematic persecution, long prison sentences and even targeted killing from 1988–98, when certain Iranian dissident intellectuals who had been critical of the Islamic Republic disappeared and their bodies found afterwards.

Journalist Reza Jolodarzadeh Released from Greater Tehran Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Evin, Evin Prison, freedom of the press, Greater Tehran Prison, Jolodarzadeh, Journalist arrested, Medical leave, medical neglect, medical negligence, Prison conditions, Reza Taleshian Jolodarzadeh, Sobhe-Azadi

This Monday, November 1,  journalist Reza Taleshian Jolodarzadeh, who has been on furlough since mid-September, was released from The Greater Tehran Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, while he was on furlough Jolodarzadeh was granted an imprisonment intolerance certificate by forensic medicine, and will therefore not be required to return to prison.

In June 2019, Reza Taleshian Jolodarzadeh was sentenced to three years in prison, a fine of 40 million rials and two years prohibition from any political or journalistic activities on charges of “propaganda against the regime, spreading lies and disturbing public opinions on the internet”.  The verdict was upheld by the appellate court.

In January 2021, Jolodarzadeh was summoned by Branch 1 of the Executive Unit of Evin Prison to endure his sentence in The Greater Tehran Prison. On February 12, despite having regular seizures, he was not allowed to be dispatched to a hospital outside the prison. Jolodarzadeh is an injured veteran of the Iran-Iraq war and suffers from a serious brain lesion.

On March 2, Jolodarzadeh went on a hunger strike to protest authorities’ refusal to take his medical needs seriously. After one week, he ended the hunger strike after hospitalization and receiving medical treatment. Once again, on April 28, in protest against prison’s officials’ inattention to his demands and requirements, he went on a hunger strike. After a while, he ended his strike after officials promised to meet his demands.

On July 14, he went furlough from The Greater Tehran Prison as well as once again on September 22, for medical treatment and providing medicines. This time, forensic medicine issued an imprisonment intolerance certificate whereby he was set free.

Reza Taleshian Jolodarzadeh is the Editor of  the newspaper “Sobhe-Azadi” , which was banned by the regime in 2011.

Political Prisoner Saeed Sangar Released After 21 Years in Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
DOJ, Evin, Evin Prison, Fatemi, moharebeh, Peoples Mujahedin Organization of Iran, Saeed Sangar, Sanandaj, Sangar, Tehran, Urmia, Urmia prison

On Saturday, October 30, political prisoner Saeed Sangar was released on parole from Urmia Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Sangar’s release comes after 21 years of imprisonment.

On August 31, 2000, Sangar was arrested. However, in his legal case, October 29 of that year has been wrongly recorded as the arrest date.

On November 18, 2000, the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, headed by judge Fatemi, sentenced him to death on the charge of “enmity against God (Moharebeh) through membership in The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran”. Following this conviction, Sangar was transferred from the detention center of the ministry of intelligence in Sanandaj to ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, where he was held in solitary confinement cells until 2003. In the fall of 2003, the appellate court changed the verdict to life imprisonment and sent him to Urmia Prison.

Years later, on December 23, 2016, the executive branch No. 4 of the Department of Justice in Sanandaj reduced the verdict to 18 years imprisonment.

In 2017, a new case was opened against him for the charge of “propaganda against the regime”  of which, however, he was later acquitted.

Despite that by December of 2020, not only he had served out two years more than his 18-years sentence, he was sentenced again to 11 months imprisonment sentence on the charge of ” propaganda against the regime and in favor of dissident groups against the regime”. This sentence was reduced to eight months, which led to his final release this Saturday, October 30.

Ahmadreza Haeri Summoned to the Cybercrime Court of Tehran

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Ahmadreza Haeri, Cubercrime, Evin, Evin Prison, Gerater Tehran Penitentiary, Greater Tehran Prison, Haeri, NAJA, PSCMO, Salavati, subpoena, Tehran, Tehran Province

Following a complaint from the Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization of Tehran Province (PSCMO), former political prisoner Ahmadreza Haeri was recently summoned to the Cybercrime Court of Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, this Friday, October 29, Haeri was summoned on charges of “spreading lies, accusative, insulting and slanderous words”.

One month after the incident known as “Black Thursday of Evin Prison”, when dozens of political prisoners in Evin Prison were beaten brutally by security agents in Ward 350 of Evin prison, Ahmadreza Haeri was sentenced to 42 months in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Salavati.

This initial verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the appellate court. However, following his lawyer’s objection, the verdict was revoked and this time the case was undertaken by Branch 54 of the court of appeals which sentenced him to six months in prison and 74 lashes.

On July 25, 2020, Haeri endured the flogging by the Intelligence and Public Security Police of NAJA and then was sent to the Greater Tehran prison to serve his six-month sentence. On October 8, 2020, he was released on probation from the Greater Tehran prison.

In this new subpoena from the Cybercrime Court of Tehran, Haeri was instructed to appear there within five days.

Political Prisoner Injured After Protest by Self-Immolation in Evin Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Article 134, Darini, Evin, Evin Prison, Hunger Strike, Islamic penal code, Mehdi Darini, protest, Revolutionary Court of Tehran, self-immolation, Tehran

On Wednesday, October 27, political prisoner Mehdi Darini was injured by self-immolation and hospitalized in the healthcare center of Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Darini’s demonstration was in protest of prison authorities’ refusal to release him on probation. He is currently enduring the second year of a five year term in Evin Prison in Tehran.

An informed source told HRANA that Darini had previously warned prison officials about his intentions if the interrogator refused to consider his demand to be released.

During the last interrogation, in response to his stating his intention to go on a hunger strike, the interrogator reportedly said, “All the better; the regime has already too many hungry mouths to feed.”

35-year-old Mehdi Darini, a production engineer, was sentenced to five years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on a charge of ” blasphemy” and one year on a charge of “propaganda against the regime”. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of five years is enforceable.