Political prisoner Shaker Behrouz has been on a hunger strike since June 13 in Urmia Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Behrouz’s hunger strike is in protest of his unjust death sentence and long-term detention in solitary confinement.
Behrouz became a member of one of the Iranian Kurdish opposition parties located in Iraq in 2018, but later that year, he got a safe-conduct letter and returned to Iran.
32-year-old Behrouz was first arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in March 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for membership in an opposition party (KDP).
Later, Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ali Sheikh Lou, further sentenced Mr. Behrouz to death on charges of armed rebellion through membership in an opposition party and the murder of a member of the Revolutionary Guards.
12 separate people testified that at the time of the murder, Behrouz was in a shop in Dizaj town of Urmia city, nowhere near the scene of the crime. However, the court refused to hear the witnesses’ statements and convicted him anyway.
An informed source additionally told HRANA that the victim’s family has stated they did not file a lawsuit against Mr. Behrouz and believe in his innocence. They are even willing to testify in court to that end.
Shaker Behrouz is the son of Salim, and a resident of the Dizaj region of Urmia city in West Azerbaijan Province.
On Saturday, June 12, an inmate who was on death row in Urmia Prison died after prison officials refused to send him to the hospital in the aftermath of a heart attack.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, 55-year-old Shamsuddin Tatari suffered a heart attack at noon and died within the day after being denied the transfer.
Tatari was from the city of Salmas in the West Azerbaijan province. He was previously sentenced to death on drug-related charges and had been held in Urmia Prison for two years.
On May 25, the Mahabad Revolutionary Court sentenced Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, a resident of Naqadeh in West Azerbaijan, to 40 years in prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, The First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad summoned Hosseini and informed him upon arrival that he had been sentenced in absentia.
Hosseini is facing 40 years in Urmia Prison on charges of Moharebeh (rebellion, or “waging war against God” in Shariah Law) through membership in an opposition group.
In April, Hosseini’s last hearing was held in the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, presided over by Judge Javad Gholami. The political prisoner also faced a hearing for Moharebeh in July 2019.
Hosseini is currently being held in Naqadeh Prison in the West Azerbaijan Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, an inmate at Urmia Prison died on Monday after being ruthlessly beaten by on-duty guards. The identity of this prisoner has been verified by HRANA as 35-year-old Amir Rezaei.
According to an informed source, on Monday, after a clash between prisoners in Ward 14 of Urmia Prison, several prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement.
“After being released from solitary confinement, Mr. Rezaei escaped toward the 1-2 dormitory of the prison,” the informed source said. “Four prison guards followed him and arrested him; two of them beat him and one of them lifted Amir Rezaei on his head and knocked him to the ground. The prisoner’s head hit the ground, causing unconsciousness and eventually death.”
The source emphasized that guards’ aggressive handling continued long after Rezaei had been subdued.
“Three officers dragged him to the ground, even after he lost consciousness, and transferred him to another place,” the source said. “They took him to the hospital and found out that he had lost his life when they saw that he was unconscious. Last night [May 17], around 11 o’clock, the body was taken out of the prison.”
Prison official brutality towards inmates is an ongoing issue in Iran. Rezaei had served out half of a 20-year sentence in prison on drug-related charges when he was killed.
Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it is rationing petrol and increasing its price. The protests took place across the country following the decision of the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, at midnight of November 14, 2019, to cut petrol subsidies to raise funds for social assistance to the poor. Petrol price was increased to a minimum of 15,000 Rials per liter, 50% increase from the day before.
Nationwide protests in the last three days were in at least 48 cities such as: Ahvaz, Shooshtar, Dezful, Gachsaran, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Mahshahr, Rasht, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Khorramabad, Qom, Ilam, Karaj, Sanandaj, Dorud, Qazvin, Arak, Mahdi Shahr, Garmsar, Shahroud, Najafabad, Mariwan, Tehran, Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Saveh, Pasargadae, Qods (Qal’eh Hasan Khan), Varamin, Sari, Yasuj, Qaemshahr, Shahrekord, Malek Shahr, Parand, Damavand, Pol Dokhtar, Neyshabur, Sarepol Zahab, Kahnooj, Yazd, Bandar Bushehr, Bahmai, Shahriar, etc. They are still ongoing in several cities.
Peaceful demonstrations turned violent in Sanandaj, Mahshahr, and Shiraz, with online videos purporting to show police officers firing teargas at protesters and mobs setting fires. Several people were injured or killed in the first three days of protests as a result of the police’s direct shots. On November 17, 2019, students of Tehran University and Tabriz University protested inside the university. Shops at Tehran Grand Bazaar went on strike on November 17, 2019.
The protests started on November 15, 2019, and are still ongoing. The arrest of more than 1000 people across the country was confirmed. More than 150 banks and supermarkets were set on fire and a police officer was killed. Two Hawzas -a seminary where Shi’a Muslim clerics are educated- were set on fire in Shiraz and Kazerun. According to unconfirmed reports, at least 36 people were killed in Sirjan, Shiraz, Behbahan, Marivan, Khoramshahr, Isfahan, and Shahriar.
According to Fars News, protests were held in 100 cities and at least 100 banks and 57 supermarkets were set on fire. Based on this report, the number of protesters were 87400 from which 82200 are men and 5200 women. At least 1000 people were arrested. Yazd prosecutor confirmed the arrest of 40 people in the city of Yazd. Bam Prosecutor also confirmed the arrest of 15 people in the city of Bam. The prosecutor of Robat Karim confirmed the arrest of 34 protesters for vandalism. According to Mohammad Reza Amoui, Kermanshah’s chief of Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on November 16, Major Iraj Javaheri was killed fighting with protesters in Kermanshah. A journalist resided in Mariwan, Adnan Hasanpour, reported that security forces shot people directly and at least seven people were killed in Javanrud, one person was killed in Sanandaj, and several people were injured. According to unconfirmed reports, 15 of the killed people are identified as following:
Meisam Adgipour, Khaled Maniat, Ali Ghazlavy, Milad Hamidavi, Ali Boghlani, Hamzeh Savari, Mohammad Asafi Zargani, Ehsan Abdollahnejad, Mehdi Nikouei, Osman Naderi, Mehran Tak, Shahou Validi, Javad Nazari Fathabadi, Mehrdad Dashtizadeh, Mohammad Hossein Ghanavati.
Iran has almost completely shut off access to the internet across the country. On November 16, 2019, by the approval of the National Security Supreme Council, the government has completely blocked Internet access in Iran to stymie protests. Due to the internet shut down and the lack of access to freelance reporters and citizen journalists, confirming news about demonstrations and deaths is difficult. It also caused difficulty for Iranian citizens to have access to news agencies websites. On Monday, November 18, schools are closed in 17 cities across Iran:
Shiraz, Kazerun, Alborz, Fereydun, Fereydun Shahr, Farsan, Kuhrang, Laran, Taleqan, Astara, and Najafabad. In addition, universities are closed in Shiraz.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed petrol price increases claiming opponents of the Islamic Republic and foreign enemies were guilty of sabotage and not ordinary people. According to Khabar Online, Mojtaba Zonnour, a parliament member representing Qom, is collecting parliament members signatures to impeach Ali Larijani, the head of parliament. He gathered 50 signatures so far. Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a parliament member representing Bukan, filed his resignation and added that he resigned to announce that he was not involved in this decision [raising petrol price]. Today, with respect to Ayatollah Khamenei’s views, the Ministry of Intelligence announced that the protesters will face harsh punishments. Reportedly, people received threatening text messages in Khuzestan and Karaj from the prosecutor’s offices of their province. People were warned about attending protests and not to disturb public order and facilitate the abuse of opposition groups.
In the past two days, two Kulbars, 23 years old Sina Mam-Hamidi and 55 years old Naser Olian were injured in Marivan and Urmia and two others, Khaled Salimi and Akam Bardel were killed by patrol police in Piranshahr.
In 2018, 48 Kulbars were killed and 104 had been injured by police patrol in the west and north west of Iran. According to this report, 300 other citizens (beside Kulbars) in 11 provinces were injured or killed by military forces.
Kulbars (carriers) are labors who are carrying goods across borders for living. The majority of Kulbars are working in West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces. Kulbars are carrying goods across the borders from unofficial locations, in lieu of a very low amount of money.
The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 20th, 2019 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) Sepideh Gholian was arrested earlier today. She reacted to last night’s broadcast of her forced confessions on the national television and requested a public trial. She is a social rights’ activist and was released on bail on December 18th. She was arrested on November 18th while she was supporting the strike of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane workers.
(2) A Baha’i citizen, Atousa Ahmadaei, was arrested earlier today in Tehran and was transferred to an unknown place. The intelligent officers also searched her home and confiscated her belongings indicating that her charge is “acting against the national security’.
(3) A Telegram activist, Mohammad Mehdi Zamanzadeh, was released from prison after completing two and a half years sentence for blasphemy-related charges.
(4) Two Kulbars (Kurdish back carriers), Karim Faraji and Masoud Ahmadzadeh, were injured after fell falling off a mountain in Sardasht and Baneh.
(5) Mohammad Saleh Shokri was acquitted of “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group” in Saqqez while Majid Tibash was released on bail on the same charge in Urmia. Five other people, Ali Esmaeili, Oman Hasani, Hassan Mousavi, Abdollah Advai, Osman Hosseini, Jamal Mousavi and Arshia Maleki have been arrested on the same charge in Oshnavieh, Sarvabad and Kermanshah.
(6) A 23-year-old resident of Ahvaz, Ali Ayashi, was arrested by the security forces. His whereabouts is still unknown.
(7) Yaser Mohebi and Ghader Zini have been arrested in Kermanshah and Urmia on the charge of “cooperation with Kurdish opposition group”. Mohebi was arrested last year after having a speech in support of Baha’i citizens.
(8) Historian and documentary producer, Hossein Dehbashi, was sentenced to four months imprisonment on the charge of “disturbing the public mind” for the complaint filed by Ministry of Health and Medical Education’s. According to Hrana, Dehbashi rose to modest fame after producing a promotional documentary for 2013 presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani, as well as the documentary “The Royal Court’s Narrative.” In 2015, he directed and launched the Iran Verbal History Project through the National Library and Documentation Center [thousands of YouTube viewers have screened clips of Dehbashi’s work, which features interviews with key political figures from the past four decades.
(9) The families of two detained Arab citizens, Ghasem Beit Abdollah and Abdollah Karmalacheab who received death penalty for ‘acting against the national security’ and were transferred to the Evin prison, have expressed their concern for their execution date approaching.
(10) A prisoner on the death row was saved from execution by the consent of the next of kin in the Fars province. There have been 31 similar cases in the last 11 months. There were seven other savings from execution in the Yazd province in the same period
(11) Workers of Aleshtar city services in Lorestan province have unpaid wages. Also, the Ports and Marine Organization owes the insurance share to its workers.
(12) The release on bail for the two detained labor activists, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh and Arsham Rezaei is postponed. Also, Rezaei and two others in the same case Mohammad Hosseinzadeh, and Majid Hosseini, were transferred to quarantine in the Evin prison although their bonds were set.
(13) Sunni elites and professors in Sistan and Baluchestan wrote an open letter to the president, Hassan Rouhani, to protest the discrimination and not using Sunni’s elites’ consultation in this province.
(14) A man who assaulted the cashier of a restaurant, has received an alternate sentence to foster street Children for six months by the court of Shiraz.
(15) More than seven protests were organized in Iran on January 20, 2019. The clients of SAIPA and IranKhodro in Tehran, the contractors of Tehran municipality, Ahvaz inter-city rail workers, the workers of city services in Borujerd, the investors in Padideh Shandiz in Tehran, the applicants of Islamic Azad Medical University in Tehran, and the workers of Lowshan municipality held separate protests to demand their requests.
(16) Five foreign exchange market dealers (Forex brokers) were sentenced to 370 lashes, combined, on the charge of “interfering with the interchangeability of the foreign currency value”.Five foreign exchange market dealers (Forex brokers) were sentenced to 370 lashes, combined, on the charge of “interfering with the interchangeability of the foreign currency value”.
The following is an
overview of human rights violations in Iran on January 17th, 2019 based on the
information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) More than three protests were held across the country. The workers of inter-city rail in Ahvaz, several teachers in Yazd, and the workers of the maintenance contractor in oil, gas, petrochemical, refineries, water and energy (RAMPCO Group) in Assaluyeh, have organized separate protests.
(2) Four people have been summoned and one was arrested in Sonqor in Kermanshah province. Borzou Naderi, Ehsan Darabi, Fahim Naseri, Kiumars Vaezi, and Zahra Asadi have been summoned. Moreover, Darabi was arrested and transferred to the Intelligence Detention Center.
(3) A detained Lebanese citizen, Nazar Zaka, who was held in solitary confinement for 11 days, has been transferred from Evin prison to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Detention Center. He was sentenced to 10 years and paying 200 thousand dollars fine on espionage-related charges.
(4) A day after Iranian ambassador to the UK meeting with the UK media regarding Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe’s case, the UK Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, repeated his request for her release.
(5) Five Kulbars have been shot by border patrol in Khoy, Sardasht, Urmia, and Chaldoran in West Azerbaijan province. Afshin Alipour, Abdollah Yousefi, Ehsan Khaledi, Naser Omari were killed or injured. Also, Amir Taheri, another Kulbar, died from hypothermia.
(6) Hamid and Mohammad Parvazeh who were arrested by the Intelligence agents in Sanandaj, were transferred to Marivan prison. They were charged with “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition group”. They were not given access to lawyers.
(7) Prison authorities will transfer Nazanin Zaghari and Narges Mohammadi to hospital. They ended a 3-day hunger strike in protest to the denial of medical care last night. They suffer from serious health conditions which have been exacerbated in prison due to authorities’ refusal of medical care to them.
(8) Amir Amirgholi a former political prisoner and a member of Gam editorial board was arrested and his whereabouts is unknown. Amir Hossein Mohammadifar and Sanaz Allahyari, the editors of “Gam”, were arrested on January 9, 2019.
(9) Mostafa Borumand sentenced to 74 lashes and six and a half years imprisonment on the charge of “disturbing public order” by being present in an unlawful protest. He was in Vakilabad prison for 11 months before his trial.
(10) An 11-year-old student died by suicide in Urmia in West Azerbaijan province. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers.
(11) A 55-year-old construction worker had a fatal fall in his workplace in Tehran because of negligence in the oversight of safety conditions.
(12) Political prisoners of Urmia prison were transferred forcefully by “special guards” to a high security level ward which does not have any air conditioner, window, and kitchen.
The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 27th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) A stepfather in Qom was jailed over a child’s death. A child died after being transferred to a hospital to care for his severe injuries. His stepfather was accused of physically abusing the child.
(2) Ten workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group were released on bail. At least 15 more are still in prison.
(3) A prisoner in Zahedan prison had been stripped naked, tied up to a metal fence, and beaten after an argument with the prison deputy. Alireza Mohammadi is accused of robbery and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. In addition, A prisoner, Omran Mirakzehi, was beaten in Saravan prison and had been transferred to quarantine.
(4) Salahedin Ranjbar, a cyber activist, who has been previously sentenced to one year in prison, was arrested and transferred to Supermax ward for violent inmates of Urmia prison to serve his sentence on December 23.
(5) In a lawsuit filed by Kavous Seyed Emami’s family, against the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting regarding a program aired which falsely portrayed him. His family also requested to lift the travel ban on Seyed-Emami ‘s spouse.
(6) Three protests have been held across the country. Educators and retired teachers protested in Isfahan and Urmia. Police fired tear gas at protestors and several of them have been arrested. Moreover, farmers in Isfahan protested and requested fulfilment of their demands.
(7) A prisoner who was accused of murder was saved from death with forgiveness and consent of the next of kin, after spending five years in the Dezful prison.
(8) More than 78 workers of Kavosh Pressure Vessels Manufacturer were laid off. Although they still have unpaid wages, their names have been sent to get unemployment benefits.
(9) A worker has been injured in a water well in Karaj because of unsafe working conditions.
(10) Mine explosion wounds a Shepherd in Salehabad district in Mehran County, Ilam Province. Land mines are remnants from Iran-Iraq war.
(11) Family and friends of Shahram Farajzadeh Tarani have been prevented from marking the anniversary of his death. The video of his death drew worldwide attention after he was ran over by a police vehicle during the 2009 Iranian election protests.
The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 23rd, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
(1) Iranian border patrol shot a 27-year-old Kurdish kulbar, Ali Mamveisi, in Sardasht. He was severely injured and was transferred to a hospital in Urmia.
(2) A 36-year-old woman committed suicide by self-immolation on December 22 in Kooy-e Saadi district in Ahvaz.
(3) In the last two days, six workers of Iran National Steel Industrial Group were released. More than 43 workers were arrested on December 19.
(4) A prisoner charged with murder was saved from death with forgiveness of the next of kin in Khuzestan.
(5) Behrouz Farzandi , a Baha’i prisoner of war and disabled veteran of Iran-Iraq war, has been denied his degree after completing a bachelor program in Business Administration.
(6) A citizen was severely injured after a mine exploded in Dehloran city in Ilam province.
(7) The Supreme Court rejected the death sentence of Marjan Davari, a 52-year-old translator and scholar in Shahr Ray women’s prison, who was sentenced to death on charge of ‘corruption on earth’ in 2017. She was a translator in the Rah-e-Marefat institution.
(8) Detained civil rights activist Reza Khandan was released on bail. His charges are “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state” and “encouraging prostitution by promoting non-observance of the hijab.”
(9) Esmail Bakhshi, a labor activist, returned to his workplace. He was a worker of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Argo-Business and was released on bail on December 12. He was detained for 40 days in prison.
(10) Nader Fatourechi’s court was on session on December 23. He confirmed that he faced persecution over his criticism of prison conditions after his detention at Fashafoyeh Prison. He was released on bail.
(11) A woman suffers serious injuries after an acid attack by her 20-years old step-son in Tehran. The two had financial disputes.
(12) The director of burn prevention research center: 40 percent of the burn patients are children and more than 15 percent of them are the women who are the victims of self-immolation.
(13) In a statement, more than 600 teachers requested immediate investigation of the causes and the responsible authorities in a Zahedan kindergarten fire. They warned that more than half of the schools in the country are unsafe.
(14) The appeal court of a Baha’i painter, Shahriar Cyrus, who was arrested on June 2015 and was sentenced to five years in prison will be in session on December 25th. He was accused of ‘assembly and conspiracy against the state’ by offering painting classes. He was a student of Aydeen Aghdashlou, Rouyein Pakbaz, and Ahmad Vakili and had been teaching painting for many years. He has also published articles on philosophy and art history in Iranian newspapers.
(15) More than 60 workers in Iranian Rail Industrial Development Company (IRICO) have been laid off due to company’s financial problems.
(16) Two workers died due to an unsafe workplace in Dehdasht and Gonabad.
