Tag: Loqman Aminpour

Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj: 17 Political Prisoners Remain in Solitary Confinement

Posted on by . .
News, Prisoners
Abolhassan Montazer, Ahmadreza Haeri, Akbar Bagheri, Ali Moezzi, Arsham Rezaei, Asadollah Hadi, Behrooz Ehsani Eslamlou, Hamzeh Savari, HRANA, Khosrow Rahnama, Loqman Aminpour, Mehdi Hasani, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, Mohammad Shafiei, Mostafa Ramezani, Reza Mohammad Hosseini, Reza Salmanzadeh, Salahuddin Ziaei, Sepehr Emamjomeh, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb

HRANA – At least 17 political prisoners are being held in solitary confinement for the fifth consecutive day in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, these individuals continue to be held in solitary cells inside units 1 and 3 of Ghezel Hesar Prison: Sepehr Emamjomeh, Loqman Aminpour, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, Abolhassan Montazer, Ali Moezzi, Khosrow Rahnama, Hamzeh Savari, Asadollah Hadi, Reza Salmanzadeh, Reza Mohammad Hosseini, Mostafa Ramezani, Salaheddin Ziaei, Arsham Rezaei, Akbar Bagheri, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Ahmadreza Haeri, and Mohammad Shafiei.

On Saturday, July 26, a special unit of prison guards, accompanied by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence, raided the ward housing political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison. During the operation, phone lines in the ward were cut, several inmates were reportedly beaten, and a number of political prisoners were forcibly transferred to solitary confinement.

In response, some of the affected prisoners have launched a hunger strike to protest what they describe as “systematic violence by security forces against political prisoners in Unit 4.” Their complete disconnection from families and external sources has severely limited access to information about their current conditions. HRANA continues to investigate and gather further details.

This violent crackdown appears to be an attempt to suppress resistance by prisoners opposing the transfer of political prisoner Saeed Masouri to Zahedan Prison, and the implementation of death sentences against political prisoners Behrooz Ehsani Eslamlou and Mehdi Hasani.

Prolonged solitary confinement—especially without access to communication, legal counsel, medical care, or visitation—is considered a form of psychological torture and violates the principles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the “Nelson Mandela Rules” regarding the treatment of prisoners.

Appeals Court Upholds Sentences for Four Defendants in Evin Prison Fire Case

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Evin Prison fire, HRANA, Loqman Aminpour, Meysam Dehbanzadeh

The Tehran Provincial Appeals Court has upheld the sentences of Loqman Aminpour, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, Majid Roshannejad, and Reza Salmanzadeh, four defendants in the so-called Evin Prison fire case. Previously, Branch 1148 of the Tehran Criminal Court sentenced the group to a total of 33 years in prison and 518 lashes.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the sentences were confirmed by the Appeals Court without a proper review of the case.

The original verdicts were issued on June 19, 2024, a day after the trial presided over by Judge Jabbar Javadi Rami. Aminpour, Dehbanzadeh, and Roshannejad were each sentenced to six years in prison and 74 lashes for “destruction of property,” an additional 16 months and 74 lashes for “disrupting prison order,” and another 16 months for “disobedience and resisting prison officials.” Salmanzadeh received five years in prison and 74 lashes for “destruction of property,” one year for “disrupting prison order,” and one year for “disobedience and resisting prison officials.”

A source close to one of the families told HRANA: “Despite objections filed by the defendants, neither they nor their lawyers were notified about the appeals process. The defense submissions prepared by their lawyers were ignored, and the sentences were upheld without any review in the Appeals Court.”

In addition to these four individuals, 36 other defendants in the Evin Prison fire case have also received prison sentences. HRANA is investigating the status of their appeals.

The prisoners are currently serving sentences from unrelated cases in the Greater Tehran and Ghezel Hesar prisons.

Following the fire on the night of Saturday, October 15, 2022, at Evin Prison, a case was opened against these prisoners based on a complaint from the Prisons Organization.

On the night of October 15, 2022, after tensions rose in Evin Prison, fire was seen above the prison, and sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard. Despite officials claiming to have controlled the fire and clashes, gunfire continued for several hours. As a result, several prisoners were injured and killed, and some were transferred out of the prison.