Tag: Prisoners of conscience

17 Days After Arrest, Detained Labor Activist’s Whereabouts Unknown

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Labor and Guilds, Prisoners
Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, iran human rights, labor activist in iran, Prisoners of conscience, worker's rights

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – As far as his family knows, labor activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh could be seriously suffering, or worse: seventeen days after his arrest near Kermanshah in western Iran, authorities have yet to release word of his wellbeing or whereabouts.

“Mr Ebrahimzadeh has had no contact with his family for 17 days, and his family is unaware of his fate, which makes them very anxious,” a source close to the family revealed to HRANA.

Ebrahimzadeh was arrested on Friday, August 17, 2018, and transferred to a Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Detention Center in Kermanshah the same day.

Ebrahimzadeh, who was born in 1977 in Oshnavieh (West Azerbaijan province), has been detained several times since 2008 in cases related to his labor activism. His imprisonments have previously gained international attention.

On Friday, August 31, 2018, President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Mike Palecek issued a statement addressed to Iranian authorities, condemning Ebrahimzadeh’s most recent arrest and demanding his immediate release.

In a previous report, a source close to Ebrahimzadeh told HRANA: “He was arrested by security forces around Kermanshah while en route to assist survivors of the Kermanshah earthquake, and taken to an unknown location on Friday, August 17, 2018. After three days of persistent inquiry, his family learned of his detention, but no information about the reason for his arrest is available.”

In May 2017, HRANA announced Ebrahimzadeh’s release from Rajai Shahr Prison after serving seven years in prison.

Ahwazi Arab Activists Arrested in Southwestern Iran

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Ethnic Minorities, Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
ahwazi arab activists, iran human rights, iran protests, Political Prisoners, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Three Ahwazi Arab activists from the city of Hamidiyeh, in the province of Khuzestan (southwestern Iran), were arrested by plainclothes forces on the morning of Monday August 27th and taken to an undisclosed location.
HRANA has confirmed the identities of two of the detainees as Hassan Beit Said, 26, and Ali Mazraeh, 27.
Hamidiyeh county consists of two districts and four villages and has a population of 48,935 people (based on a 2006 census).
At the same time, three prisoners who were detained on July 2, 2018, during widespread protests in Ahwaz (capital of the Khuzestan province) were transferred to Sheyban Prison by IRGC Intelligence forces following the completion of the interrogation process. HRANA has identified these three individuals as Seyed Ali Mousavi, 27, Mohammad Savari, 18, and Reza Savari, 26. All three are residents of Ahwaz’s Kouy-e Alawi district. The charges against them are still unknown.

Journalist Hamed Ayinehvand Denied Bail, Moved from Solitary Confinement to General Ward

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Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Evin Prison, hamed ayinehvand, iran human rights, jailed journalists, political activists in Iran, Prisoners of conscience, solitary confinement

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Hamed Ayinehvand, a journalist and political activist who was arrested on June 27, 2018, by security forces belonging to the Intelligence unit of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been transferred from solitary confinement, where he spent 44 days after his arrest, to a general ward in Evin Prison.

The Prosecutor of Branch 7 of the Evin Prosecutor’s office has denied Ayinehvand bail, despite the completion of the investigations process and the judicial proceedings. The charge issued against him is “Propaganda against the regime through cyberspace activities”.

A source close to the case told HRANA: “Mr Ayinehvand’s family is worried about [his] mental condition which was described as inappropriate based on his family’s observation [of him] during their last prison visit.”

Hamed Ayinehvand is a political activist, journalist and PhD student of international relations at the Islamic Azad University’s science and research department. Furthermore, Ayinehvand was a *disqualified candidate in Iran’s most recent Parliamentary election.

*Iran’s Guardian Council is responsible for vetting the qualifications of parliamentary candidates and determines who is eligible to run for Parliament.

Labor Activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh Detained

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Labor and Guilds, Prisoners
Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, iran human rights, labor activist in prison, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Former political prisoner and labor activist Behnam Ebrahimzadeh was arrested by security forces around Kermanshah (western Iran) and taken to an unknown location on Friday, August 17, 2018.

According to a source close to Mr Ebrahimzadeh’s family, he was detained while en route to assist survivors of the Kermanshah earthquake that claimed thousands of casualties in November 2017.

After several days of persistent inquiry, his family learned of his detention, but remain in suspense as to the reason for his arrest.

Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, born in 1977 in Oshnavieh (West Azerbaijan province), has been detained several times since 2008. On June 12, 2010, he was arrested and interrogated in solitary confinement for four months, and later transferred to Ward 350 of Evin prison. At the conclusion of a brief trial without a defense lawyer, Judge Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced Mr Ebrahimzadeh to twenty years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 5 years in an appeals court.

Over the course of his five-year sentence in Evin Prison, Ebrahimzadeh endured multiple beatings and transfers to solitary confinement. His detention at Evin coincided with the 2014 incident known as “Black Thursday” in which plainclothes agents and Evin Prison staff coordinated a group assault on Ward 350 inmates. Later, he was illegally exiled to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, where he was repeatedly harassed and shifted among wards.

Near the end of his five-year sentence, Ebrahimzadeh faced new charges of anti-regime collusion and propaganda, allegedly committed while he was in prison. He contested the charges in the Tehran Appeals Court. On July 31, 2016, the new sentence of nine and a half years imprisonment was first reduced to seven years and ten months, and then to 15 days with a fine of approximately $100 USD (4,500,000 Rials).

Authorities had also accused Mr Ebrahimzadeh of “violating a detention order” and “using satellite equipment and game cards” during his time in Evin.

More recently, on September 24, 2017, Ebrahimzadeh was released from a ten-day detainment after being arrested along with several others in front of Rajai Shahr Prison, where they were rallying in a demonstration of solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike.

Imprisoned Civil Rights Activist Farhad Meysami on Hunger Strike

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, Farhad Meysami, Prisoners of conscience, Reza Khandan, ward 209

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA)- Farhad Meysami, who was arrested and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison on July 31, 2018, has been on hunger strike since August 1st. He faces charges of “Collusion and conspiracy to threaten national security”, “Disseminating propaganda against the regime,” and “Insulting the hijab, an essential sacrament of Islam” from Branch 7 of Evin Court.

Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, the human rights lawyer who was previously imprisoned on similar charges, related Mr Mesyami’s case updates to HRANA.

“Farhad Meysami [declared his strike] when he contacted his mother, which was 20 days into his detention,” Mr Khandan said, explaining that news hadn’t spread earlier because Mr Meysami was being held in solitary confinement. In the same phone conversation, according to Mr Khandan, Mr Meysami said he was anticipating a transfer to the prison’s general ward in three days.

Reading from the interrogation sheet intended to elucidate his charges, Mr Meysami cited accusations of “provoking women to appear without hijab in the street”. Mr Khandan conjectures that Mr Meysami’s charges actually stem from his possession of pin-back buttons reading “I protest mandatory Hijab”.

“Farhad Meysami’s mother was extremely worried following the news of his hunger strike and intimated that she wanted to start a hunger strike as well,” Mr Khandan added. “But some friends and I dissuaded her, given her age and her need to take medications on a daily basis.”

Earlier, Arash Keikhosravi — who has been detained in the Great Tehran Penitentiary for the past four days — told HRANA that “on Sunday, August 12th, Mr Meysami’s mother and I went to Branch 7 of Evin court to follow up on his case and to see how he was doing. I planned to register as his lawyer, but the officials at the branch told me that section 48 of the Criminal Procedure Code bars me from doing so.”

Section 48 of the recently-amended Criminal Procedure Code states that those accused of national-security crimes must choose their lawyer from a list approved by the Iranian judiciary. Human Rights Organizations have argued that this new policy gives further license to infringe on the rights of defendants.

Mr Keikhosravi also said that “Mr Meysami’s mother went to see the case investigator after receiving a phone call in which she could hear the sounds of her son’s interrogation and torture.”

The investigator reportedly denied that the call had come from Evin authorities, promising her a phone call from her son to alleviate some of her worries and assure her of his wellbeing.

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Iranian Authorities Detain Writer Nader Faturehchi

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Prisoners
imprisoned journalists, imprisoned writers, iran human rights, Nader Faturehchi, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Writer, translator, and journalist Nader Faturehchi was arrested on the morning of Sunday, August 19, 2018, after he was unable to post the bail set for him during a preliminary hearing.

The hearing took place at Branch 3 of the Court of Precinct 31 of Tehran, where Faturehchi was summoned on defamation charges brought by Mohammad Imami, an investor for the celebrated Shahrzad television series, who himself has been accused of embezzling money from the Ministry of Culture.

Nader’s brother Shahrokh Faturehchi confirmed that the writer will be kept in custody as he did not have the means to post bail.

HRANA had previously reported on Mr Faturehchi’s court summons on April 4th, following a charge pursuant to Imami’s complaint. Branch 3 of Precinct 31 processes information technology and computer-related crimes.

Prior to his detention, Mr Faturehchi posted a note in response to his summons:

“A serious battle with corruption has begun. I’m going to court, coerced to ‘explain myself’ on accounts from someone charged with embezzling funds from the Employees’ Fund of the Ministry of Culture.”

Nader Faturehchi, born in 1977 in Tehran, explores political, artistic, social, and philosophical themes in his writing. He began his journalism career in the Sobh-e Emrooz newspaper and has previously worked with newspapers such as Sharq, Bahar, Aftab-e Emrooz, Dowran-e Emrooz, Bonyan, Towse’e and Sarmayeh. He also collaborates with the Porsesh Institute as a lecturer.

Fifteen Days after Arrest, Farhad Meysami Still Held Incommunicado

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Prisoners
ahmad meysami, civil rights activists in iran, Evin Prison, iran human rights, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – On August 12th, Farhad Meysami’s mother, along with lawyer Arash Keykhosravi, went to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Evin Prison to inquire about his status and register Keykhosravi as Meysami’s attorney. Evin’s interrogation branch 7 denied the registration, referencing clause 48 of Iran’s Criminal Procedures Regulations.

HRANA reported on Meysami’s arrest by security forces in his home on the evening of July 31, 2018. He was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and has not been heard from since.

Keykhosravi confirmed that he was denied the right to represent Meysami on August 12th, adding that Meysami’s mother was frantically seeking answers after receiving a phone call in which sounds of her son’s torture, and supposed confession, could be heard. The interrogator at Branch 7 denied the call was made by prison authorities, and promised her a well-check phone call from her son.

Stating that there is no further information available about Meysami’s charges, Keykhosravi continued, “Many cases involving security charges have no security basis at all. When someone criticizes an issue or actively stands up against something, the government immediately treats it as a national-security case and deprives that person of their basic and fundamental rights. As it concerns Mr. Meysami, we suspect he was arrested for his criticism of the mandatory hijab, which affects neither domestic nor foreign security. Objections like these are the mere expression of differing ideas and perspectives. Elevating such cases into security accusations is a violation of people’s fundamental rights, including the right to choose a lawyer, which is revoked per clause 48 of the Criminal Procedures Regulations.”

According to clause 48 of the new Criminal Procedure, during the initial stages of investigation against those accused of political and national-security crimes, defendants must pick their attorney from a list of lawyers pre-approved by the judiciary. Citizens’ rights organizations claim that this law infringes on the rights of the accused.

Azerbaijani Turkic Activists Arrested After Ceremony in Mount Sabalan

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Ethnic Minorities, Prisoners
azerbaijani activists, iran human rights, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Security forces in Meshginshahr (northwestern Iran) reportedly arrested several Azerbaijani Turkic minority activists on Friday, August 10th after attacking their camp in Mount Sabalan.
The activists, who had reportedly planned to climb Mount Sabalan, were arrested while reading poetry in their camp. There is no information available at this time about their condition or the charges issued against them.
HRANA was able to confirm some of their names: Aidin Zakeri, Tohid Amir Amini, Saleh Pichganloo, Reza Ebrahimi, Rahim Nowrouzi, Mojtaba Parvin, Mostafa Parvin, Yousef Kari, Mehdi Houshmand, Babak Nikzad, Younes Shokri, Javad Shokri, Hossein Salavan, Mohammad Ghohoumzadeh, Rasoul Ghohoumzadeh, Ealman Mohammadpour, Aisouda Mohammadpour and Ahmad Mohammadpour.
According to eyewitnesses, some of the activists were beaten for resisting arrest. One of the detained activists informed his family in a phone call that they were all transferred to a detention center in Lahroud (near Meshginshahr).

Political Activist Majid Azarpey Arrested, Begins Prison Sentence

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, iran human rights, Majid Azarpey, Political Prisoners, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Majid Azarpey, a reformist political activist, was arrested on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, and transferred to the quarantine ward of Evin Prison.

Azarpey was sentenced in November 2015 to six and a half years in prison and fined approximately $300 USD (30,000,000 Rial) by branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Moghiseh. His sentence was reportedly upheld by branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court in November 2017.

When he was arrested on Wednesday, he was complying with a phone call he had received on Monday, summoning him to Evin court to pay the $300 fine.

Azarpey was previously arrested in June 2015 by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence agents and released after eight months on approximately a $70,000 USD (7 billion Rial) bail on February 10, 2016.

Narges Mohammadi Transferred to Hospital Following Deterioration of Health

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, human rights activists in iran, iran human rights, LEGAM, Narges Mohammadi, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Narges Mohammadi, Deputy Head of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders who is detained in Evin Prison, was transferred to the hospital early Monday morning following the deterioration of her health. On August 6th, prison authorities reportedly prevented her from seeing a neurologist.

Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh (also imprisoned in Evin), said in a note that during his last prison visit, Ms Sotoudeh had informed him of Ms Mohammadi’s critical physical condition and her urgent need to be transferred to the hospital. “Nasrin told me in a phone call that Narges Mohammadi suffered a seizure at 5:00 am and was sent to Imam Khomeini Hospital…” Mr Khandan said.

Narges Mohammadi was previously sent to the hospital on Saturday, June 30th and was returned to Evin prison on Thursday, July 5th after undergoing surgery.

According to Mahmoud Behzadirad, Ms Mohammadi’s lawyer, she suffers from bladder and gallbladder problems. “Six years and four months have passed since my client’s detention and there are around three years and eight months left on her sentence. However, despite the possibility of receiving the conditional release, her requests have not been approved so far,” said Mr Behzadirad.

In May 2016, a revolutionary court sentenced Narges Mohammadi to a 16-year prison term. The main accusation against her (making up 10 years of her sentence) was her cooperation to establish LEGAM, a campaign to abolish the death penalty. The court reportedly called her cooperation with the peaceful campaign as “creating a society aimed at undermining the security of the country”.

Ms Mohammadi stated that during her trial session, the judge was hostile and biased toward her and openly defended the allegations brought against her by Ministry of Intelligence officials. She said the judge accused her of attempting to change “divine laws” through her anti-death penalty activities. The other six years of Ms Mohammadi’s sentence are for the charges of “Gathering and colluding against national security” and “Propaganda against the regime”. The charges against Ms Mohammadi are based on media interviews she gave regarding human rights violations, her participation in peaceful gatherings to support families of prisoners on death row, her contact with other human rights defenders (including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi), her participation in peaceful protests to condemn acid attacks against women and her 2014 meeting with Catherine Ashton.

In September 2016, Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court upheld Narges Mohammadi’s prison sentence. In May 2017, her request for a retrial was reportedly rejected by Iran’s Supreme Court.