HRANA News Agency – Third Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia acquitted political prisoner, Ahmad Tamouei, in his ninth year of imprisonment in the central prison of this city, due to lack of sufficient evidences for the charge of “propaganda against the regime” in his new case. Mr. Tamouei is serving his 15 years imprisonment sentence in this prison.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), based on the verdict issued by Judge of the branch three of the Revolutionary Court of the West Azerbaijan province in Urmia, Ahmad Tamouei was acquitted of “propaganda against the regime through communication with foreign media” in the new case in the ninth year of his imprisonment.
The sentence states: “Ahmad Tamouei was acquitted of the charge of propaganda against the regime through delivering news and statistics of prison to foreign media because of lack of sufficient evidence and he cannot be convicted just because of speculation by intelligence office.”
It is noteworthy that the last session of Ahmad Tamouei’s trial for his new case was held in Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia on November 8, 2016.
This political prisoner was summoned in connection with the new case to Branch 10 of Urmia Revolutionary Court and charges and interrogated by Judge Khodayari, on August 29, and October 6 and 9.
It should be noted that Ahmad Tamouei was arrested while he was on his personal motorbike outside the “historic cave of Sahoolan” on October 24, 2007 in Mahabad, by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and was taken to their headquarters in Urmia.
In the first twenty days, he was kept in a nameless detention center where the political prisoners are rarely transferred there. He was under different kinds of torture in this detention center, such as the “thong” and “hang out”, “beat” and “burning the body with cigarettes”.
After twenty days, he was transferred to another detention center called “21 of Ramadan”, and the severity of torture was reduced to beating and humiliation and he was held for a month in this detention center.
Then he was transferred to Mahabad prison. This political prisoner was tried by branch one of the Revolutionary Court on charge of “waging war through membership in PJAK”, on December 31, 2007.
During the trial, the lawyer of this prisoner was under pressure and was not able to adequately defend him. Even in Mahabad prison, security forces had twice summoned Ahmed Tamouei and told him, “your lawyer is not good and he is a hustler, and try to dismiss him”, but despite all these pressures, his lawyer did his job, although, maybe he could not defend him properly.
Ahmad Tamouei was tried in a 7-to-8-minute-long court hearing without a chance to give verbal evidence, and just his lawyer wrote a defence bill that was quite conservative due to the pressures.
After 10 to 18 days, the verdict of 15 years imprisonment and exile to Urmia prison was issued against him on charges of waging war, and his sentence was upheld by Branch 10 of the Appeals Court of the province, in April 2008.
This political prisoner was exiled from Mahabad prison to Urmia prison, on September 8, 2008.
He was transferred to the solitary confinement along with several other political prisoners, including Habibollah Golparipour, Hussein Mirzaee and Ali Ahamd Suleiman, when Hossein Khezri was transferred to solitary confinement for execution, on January 1, 2011. He was kept in solitary confinement number 7 in Urmia Prison and when Hussein Khezri was taken from solitary confinement number one for execution, he saw that the executioners of this political prisoner were “brutally” taking him, at the night of January 5, 2011.
This political prisoner along with Habibollah Golparipour went on hunger strike in the morning of January 5 till January 22, and on this date they were transferred to the ward.
He was transferred, after a few days, from Urmia prison to solitary confinement in Intelligence Office and since his arrival he was beaten and verbally humiliated.
He was interrogated on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “communicating with foreign media” after two days.
This political prisoner, for almost a month, was interrogated with beatings and humiliation this time.
Finally, his case was sent to the court because there was no evidence of these allegations, and again Mr. Tamouei was transferred to the prison of Urmia.
This prisoner, along with Ali Ahmad Suleiman, Yousef Kakehmami, Jahangir Badozadeh, and Habibullah Golparipour were transferred to solitary confinement in December 2011. The reason for this was explained by prison authorities as “you are going to disrespect Tasua and Ashura.” But these prisoners believe as Urmia Intelligence has established an office within the prison and the prisoners were summoned and humiliated and beaten by them, and the main reason was that these prisoners had always ignored their summons.
Ahmad Tamouei was held in cell 4 of this prison in poor conditions in this cold city’s winter, without a proper heating system or even blankets and warm clothes for about 21 days and then with the other prisoners was transferred to the ward.
His kidneys were infected because of the extreme cold weather in the solitary confinement, and up to now his kidneys are in trouble due to lack of treatment.
This political prisoner was also transferred to the Intelligence Office, and he was held in solitary confinement without any explanation, from February 13 to 15, 2012. In the meantime, Habibullah Golparypour was summoned and was asked to write his “will” and he was told that his execution order has been issued.
Ahmad Tamouei along with Jahangir Badozadeh, Yousef Kakehmami, Ali Ahmad Suleiman and Mustafa Ali Ahmed was transferred again to solitary confinement in the Intelligence Office, on October 11, 2012. Again on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “communicating with foreign media”, “spying for foreigners” and other charges a new case was formed for these political prisoners. The reason for this action was announced as talking with Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur.
This time Ahmed Tamouei was under psychological and physical torture and interrogation for two months in solitary confinement. The last ten days of solitary confinement, were spent with speaking and threats, and torture and the interrogations were stopped and they asked him to give an interview on TV. Even though this prisoner was threatened that his sentence would be death, Ahmed Tamouei refused the interview requests. This time again his case was not sent to the court and this political prisoner was transferred and exiled to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, while he was blindfolded like prisoners of death row and was handcuffed and shackled. Along the way officials insulted him and after Amad Tamouei protested, he was beaten so that his face was bruised.
Rajai Shahr prison did not accept this prisoner because of illegal transfer and finally, he was taken to Evin prison’s security court, on December 12. It was told at the law-enforcement office that his exile was illegal, as his order was exile in Urmia prison. A temporary order for holding him at Rajai Shahr prison was issued and it was told that he must have been returned to the prison of Urmia.
Mr. Tamouei was held in ward 4, Hall 12 of Rajai Shahr prison, in Karaj for 7 months and was only allowed to make phone calls.
This political prisoner was transferred again to the prison of Urmia, on July 17, 2011. In this transition, Mr. Tamouei was not accepted by judicial authorities and Urmia prison and Tehran agents were told that this prisoner was exiled to Rajai Shar prison as a punishment. But finally, one day after the conflict and turning around all the courts in the city, Urmia Prison accepted him and transferred him to ward 12 of this prison.
After this transfer, the Intelligence Office of Urmia prison summoned Ahmed Tamouei, but he refused to attend. The officers of prison handcuffed him in the back and he was moved to that office, and from his arrival he was under severe beatings and humiliation, and then he was again placed in solitary confinement, and after about a week he was transferred to ward 34 which is reserved for prisoners with serious crimes, and was held there in a poor condition as a “floor sleeper”.
The prisoners supposed to have a strike on the occasion of the fortieth day of Habibullah Golparipour, on December 4, 2012, and probably that was why Ahmad Tamouei, once again with 4 or 5 other prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement of Intelligence office, one day before.
These prisoners went on hunger strike at their arrival and refused the Intelligence office’s request to end the hunger strike. On the second day Ahmed Tamouei was transferred for interrogation and was blindfolded while being interrogated for three or four hours and for all response to each question, he was beaten and humiliated with insults, and eventually was transferred to solitary confinement again. After five days, Ahmad Tamouei along with other political prisoners was transferred to the general ward of the prison.
The political prisoner threatened that in case of not being transferred to the political prisoners’ ward, and to protest against the poor conditions at the ward along with dangerous prisoners, he would begin a hunger strike, but the prison authorities agreed with his demands before the hunger strike, on February 2012.
He went on hunger strike along with a number of other political prisoners for 33 days, in 2014.
Ahmad Tamouei is currently serving his imprisonment in ward 12 of Urmia Prison, along with other political prisoners and has never been released on furlough. He is sentenced to 15 years in prison.