Mohammad Ali Mansouri Sent on Leave after Enduring 14 Years in Prison

On Thursday, September 9, Mohammad Ali (Piruz) Mansouri was sent on leave for the first time after serving 14 years in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mansouri is a political prisoner in poor health who has been serving out his sentence in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

Previously, on September 3, following a heart attack, Mr. Mansouri was transferred to a hospital in Karaj, where he was shackled to the bed despite his condition.

Mansouri was arrested in September 2007 after attending the 19th anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, sentenced Mr. Mansouri to 17 years in prison, transfer to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, and a fine of 150,000 tomans on a charge of “communicating and collaborating with the People’s Mujahedin Organization (MEK)”. The sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals.

In May 2018, on the pretext of [conducting] “activities inside the prison” such as going on a hunger strike, inciting prisoners, and writing a statement in support of the Sunni prisoners, Mr. Mansouri was charged with “community and collusion against the regime” and sentenced to another five years in prison.

 

Revolutionary Court of Tehran Reverses Supreme Court’s Ruling and Sentences Davoodi to 30 Years Once Again

Although the supreme court overturned the sentence of 30-year imprisonment and 111 lashes issued by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran against lawyer-turned-defendant Amirsalar Davoodi, Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court later reaffirmed the previous verdict.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Davoodi’s defense attorney Amir Raisian has said he will appeal the verdict.

Raisian wrote in a note on his social media page, “Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, believing that the ruling of the Supreme Court was wrong, confirmed the original ruling (of Branch 15).”

Amirsalar Davoodi a lawyer, has represented many cases of prisoners and political defendants, including Soheil Arabi and Saeed Shirzad.

After applying Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, Davoodi could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Meysam Gholami is Still in Detention in the Greater Tehran Prison 5 Months After his Arrest

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Meysam Gholami was arrested by security forces in March and transferred to the Greater Tehran Prison after a week in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

Regarding the same case, Mehran Azari and Fariba Asadi were arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in February and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, and later to the Greater Tehran, and Qarchak Varamin prisons, until they finally were released on bails of 400 and 500 million tomans.

Ms. Asadi is said to have been beaten at the time of the arrest.

The case of these citizens has been transferred to Branch 2 of the Shahriar Revolutionary Court on charges such as “propaganda against the regime through printing and distribution of banners and leaflets, gathering and colluding against national security, membership in opposition groups.”

Meysam Gholami, a native of Tehran, is currently being held in Ward 9 of Section 2 in Greater Tehran Prison.

 

Two Prisoners Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison

At dawn on Wednesday, July 14, two prisoners were executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights (IHR), the prisoners have been identified as Afshin Gheydar and Mohammad Abdol Rahim.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death.

According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Prisoner Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

In recent days, a man who had previously been sentenced to death for murder was executed in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Hamshahri newspaper, the prisoner was sentenced to death by Branch 10 of the Criminal Court for a murder he committed in 2017. The sentence was upheld by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death.

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Lawyer and Defendant Amirsalar Davoodi to Face Retrial on July 13

The retrial of lawyer Amirsalar Davoodi will be held on July 13 in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Davoodi’s request for a retrial was accepted in June of this year. After awaiting a verdict for nearly three years, he was released from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on a bail of 2 billion Tomans.

Amirsalar Davoodi was arrested by security forces in November 2018 and was transferred to Evin Prison after being charged.

In April 2019, Vahid Meshgani Farahani, Mr. Davoodi’s lawyer said 8 – 9 charges are filed against Mr. Davoodi, including forming a group to overthrow the regime, cooperating with hostile states, propaganda against the regime, spreading lies, insulting officials and the leadership, and several other charges, two of which have been referred to Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal.

In June 2019, on charges of conspiracy against national security, Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Mr. Davoodi to 30 years in prison and 111 lashes. The sentence was confirmed by the court of appeals in August of that year.

Mr. Davoodi’s wife had previously stated that  15 out of 30 year prison sentence for Mr. Davoodi was for setting up a group on the social media application Telegram.

190 days after his arrest, Mr. Davoodi was transferred from the detention center of the Judiciary’s Intelligence Protection Organization to the General Ward of Evin Prison in June 2019.

Davoodi had defended many cases of prisoners and political defendants, including Soheil Arabi and Saeed Shirzad.

Political Prisoner Abdul Rasoul Mortazavi Sentenced to 2 Additional Years

Political prisoner Abdul Rasoul Mortazavi was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to two additional years in prison in a new case recently opened against him.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the new charges against Mortazavi include “propaganda against the regime” and “disturbing public order”.

Mortazavi, who lost his leg during the Iraq-Iran war, was transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in early April. During the move, prison authorities took his prosthetic leg and did not return it.

Under the pretext of finally giving back his leg, officials then transferred Mortazavi to solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr on April 20th, where he is currently being held. He has been denied requests for sick leave and denied the right to make phone calls while in solitary confinement. His leg has still not been returned.

In mid-August 2019, Abdol Rasoul Mortazavi and 13 civil society activists published an open letter and requested the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei. He was subsequently sentenced to 26 years in prison, from which 11 years are enforceable.

Mohammad Nourizad, Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri and several other signatories to the statement are also currently serving prison sentences.

Political Prisoner Motaleb Ahmadian Denied Medical Care in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

Political prisoner Motaleb Ahmadian, who is currently in his 11th year of imprisonment in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, has been denied medical care despite his serious physical and mental condition.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ahmadian has been suffering from orchitis during the past years and the infection has now been transmitted to his bladder.

According to a source close to the prisoner’s family, Ahmadian recently reported in a phone call that his physical and mental condition had deteriorated following a lack of medical attention. “Officials promised to take him to a hospital for treatment but as of yet they have not fulfilled their promise and the prisoner’s physical condition is getting worse by the day,” the source said.

Earlier, the infectious disease specialist and general practitioner doctor at Evin Prison Medical Center had repeatedly emphasized that Ahmadian must be visited by a surgeon and urologist and that chemotherapy, sonography, and related tests must be performed. The specialist further emphasized that Mr. Ahmadian needs an MRI every six months due to a spinal complication and should visit a neurologist to prevent the disease from progressing and treatment. This has not been achieved so far due to opposition from Amin Vaziri, the assistant prosecutor in charge of political prisoners.

37-year-old Motaleb Ahmadian was arrested in October 2010 and, after about 230 days in solitary confinement, he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in Minab Prison, far from his hometown of Baneh City in Kurdistan Province.

At his first lawsuit, Ahmadian was arrested on a charge of Moharebeh, a pillar of Sharia Law that is typically applied to those connected to acts of armed rebellion against the state. The term, which can be loosely translated as “waging war against God”, has been used to incriminate members of opposition groups that may have used violence to rebel against the Islamic Regime, even if they themselves have not been involved.

Three more cases were later opened against Ahmadian and he received more sentences, including fines and imprisonment.

 

 Political Prisoner Soheil Arabi Faced with New Charges

On May 31, Soheil Arabi, a prisoner of conscience in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, was taken to a virtual arraignment hearing on new charges.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Branch 3 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office held the hearing and charged Arabi with “propaganda activities against the regime and disturbing the public opinion”.

Mr. Arabi was accused of creating reports on the poor condition of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, criticizing the conduct of prison authorities, especially the prison’s assistant prosecutor, going on a hunger strike to support political prisoners deprived of  medical treatment, and writing statements in support of the nationwide protests of November 2019.

Arabi was punitively transferred from the Greater Tehran Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj last September. He was then summoned and acquitted by Branch 8 of the Shahr-e-Shahri Prosecutor’s Office for another lawsuit in December.

Soheil Arabi has been imprisoned since November 2013 and has been deprived of leaves of absence throughout his entire imprisonment.

Arjang Davoodi Transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in Eighteenth Year of Imprisonment

Last week, 69-year-old political prisoner Arjang Davoodi was transferred from Zahedan Prison in Sistan and Baluchestan Province to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary and then to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, in 2016  Mr. Davoodi was transferred to Zabol and then Zahedan Prisons in Sistan and Baluchestan Province to serve his sentence in exile.

Davoodi is currently serving his 18th year in prison.