Author: A MN

Political Prisoner Saeed Sangar Released After 21 Years in Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
DOJ, Evin, Evin Prison, Fatemi, moharebeh, Peoples Mujahedin Organization of Iran, Saeed Sangar, Sanandaj, Sangar, Tehran, Urmia, Urmia prison

On Saturday, October 30, political prisoner Saeed Sangar was released on parole from Urmia Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Sangar’s release comes after 21 years of imprisonment.

On August 31, 2000, Sangar was arrested. However, in his legal case, October 29 of that year has been wrongly recorded as the arrest date.

On November 18, 2000, the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, headed by judge Fatemi, sentenced him to death on the charge of “enmity against God (Moharebeh) through membership in The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran”. Following this conviction, Sangar was transferred from the detention center of the ministry of intelligence in Sanandaj to ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, where he was held in solitary confinement cells until 2003. In the fall of 2003, the appellate court changed the verdict to life imprisonment and sent him to Urmia Prison.

Years later, on December 23, 2016, the executive branch No. 4 of the Department of Justice in Sanandaj reduced the verdict to 18 years imprisonment.

In 2017, a new case was opened against him for the charge of “propaganda against the regime”  of which, however, he was later acquitted.

Despite that by December of 2020, not only he had served out two years more than his 18-years sentence, he was sentenced again to 11 months imprisonment sentence on the charge of ” propaganda against the regime and in favor of dissident groups against the regime”. This sentence was reduced to eight months, which led to his final release this Saturday, October 30.

Susan Rezaei-Poor Executed in Central Prison of Qazvin

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News, Women
Capital Punishment, Central Prison of Qazvin, citizen executions per-capita, Citizens executed, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Qazvin, Secret executions, Susan Rezaei-Poor

On Wednesday, October 27, a female inmate who had been convicted of murdering her husband was executed in the Central Prison of Qazvin.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights, Susan Rezaei-Poor, who had been previously sentenced to death, was executed in the Central Prison of Qazvin after spending six years in prison.

“Susan was forced by her family to marry her cousin without her consent,” an informed source stated. “In her confession, she said that her husband used to get drunk from the afternoon until late at night and beat her every day. Completely fed up with his behavior, she ultimately killed him.”

The most recent report of the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between October 8 of 2020 and October 9 of 2021, at least 266 citizens, including three juvenile offenders, were executed and 90 citizens were sentenced to death.

As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce over 82% of executions. These unreported executions are known as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.

Rezaei-Poor’s execution has not been reported by official sources in Iran as of this writing.

 

Ahmadreza Haeri Summoned to the Cybercrime Court of Tehran

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Ahmadreza Haeri, Cubercrime, Evin, Evin Prison, Gerater Tehran Penitentiary, Greater Tehran Prison, Haeri, NAJA, PSCMO, Salavati, subpoena, Tehran, Tehran Province

Following a complaint from the Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization of Tehran Province (PSCMO), former political prisoner Ahmadreza Haeri was recently summoned to the Cybercrime Court of Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, this Friday, October 29, Haeri was summoned on charges of “spreading lies, accusative, insulting and slanderous words”.

One month after the incident known as “Black Thursday of Evin Prison”, when dozens of political prisoners in Evin Prison were beaten brutally by security agents in Ward 350 of Evin prison, Ahmadreza Haeri was sentenced to 42 months in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Salavati.

This initial verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the appellate court. However, following his lawyer’s objection, the verdict was revoked and this time the case was undertaken by Branch 54 of the court of appeals which sentenced him to six months in prison and 74 lashes.

On July 25, 2020, Haeri endured the flogging by the Intelligence and Public Security Police of NAJA and then was sent to the Greater Tehran prison to serve his six-month sentence. On October 8, 2020, he was released on probation from the Greater Tehran prison.

In this new subpoena from the Cybercrime Court of Tehran, Haeri was instructed to appear there within five days.

Mohammad Davari Released from Adel-Abad Prison in Shiraz

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Adel Abad, Adelabad, Adelabad Prison, Davari, Fars, Fars Province, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Davari, Rafsanjani, Sadati, Seyed Mahmood Sadati, Shiraz

On Thursday, October 29, workers’ rights activist Mohammad Davari was released by a guarantor from Adel-Abad Prison in Shiraz.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ministry of Intelligence forces arrested Mohammad Davari in Shiraz  on October 2, 2019, and transferred him to the detention center known as House No. 100 at the disposal of the intelligence ministry.

Thereafter, security forces searched his house and confiscated some of his belongings including books and written notes. After successive interrogations in the detention center, on January 11, 2020, Davari was relocated to Adel-Abad Prison. From there Davari was released on bail of 1.5 billion tomans temporarily, until the end of the legal proceedings.

In April 2020, the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, headed by judge Seyed Mahmood Sadati, sentenced Davari to seven years and six months imprisonment on a charge of “membership in one of opposition political parties” and one year in prison on a charge of “propaganda against the regime”.

This verdict was reduced to three years and nine months in prison by Branch 1 of the Court of Appeal of Fars Province. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of two years and nine months for both charges is enforceable.

On December 16, 2020, Davari appeared at the executive unit of the General Court to endure his prison sentence in Adel Abad Prison.

Davari has a graduate degree in civil engineering from Islamic Azad University and is a masters student of Political Science at Shiraz Golestan University.

He had previously faced other arrests and convictions due to his civil activities. In one case, he was arrested following the death of Hashemi Rafsanjani when he pulled down a banner bearing Rafsanjani’s photo. He was later released on bail.

On September 9 of this year, the court granted Davari release by a guarantor. Despite providing a guarantor by his family, he was not released. Instead, without informing his family and lawyer, he was secretly relocated from Adel-Abad prison to a solitary confinement cell in the detention center of the intelligence ministry where he faced news charges. Two days later, he was sent back to Adel-Abad prison. Just a few hours after his relocation, he was denied having phone calls. Nearly two months later, Davari has finally been released.

 

Seventeen People Arrested for “Promoting Western Lifestyle” on Instagram Pages in Behshahr

Posted on by A MN
Cultural, Freedom of Expression, News
Article 3, Behshahr, censorship, Cyber Police, FATA, irgc, Rokna, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, western lifestyle

Seventeen people were recently arrested in Behshahr for reasons related to their activity on their personal social media pages.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna News, the Iranian Cyber Police cited “promoting a western lifestyle, publishing obscene pictures and modelling ads” as the reasons for the arrests.

By order of a judge, the police erased all contents of the cited posts and replaced them with FATA’s logo. What the regime labels as “promoting a western lifestyle” has long been a source of tension between the regime and the Iranian people.

Imposing a certain lifestyle on citizens stands in blatant violation of Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which entitles everyone the right to life, liberty and security of person. Additionally, Article 12 of this declaration affirms, “One shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

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Political Prisoner Injured After Protest by Self-Immolation in Evin Prison

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Article 134, Darini, Evin, Evin Prison, Hunger Strike, Islamic penal code, Mehdi Darini, protest, Revolutionary Court of Tehran, self-immolation, Tehran

On Wednesday, October 27, political prisoner Mehdi Darini was injured by self-immolation and hospitalized in the healthcare center of Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Darini’s demonstration was in protest of prison authorities’ refusal to release him on probation. He is currently enduring the second year of a five year term in Evin Prison in Tehran.

An informed source told HRANA that Darini had previously warned prison officials about his intentions if the interrogator refused to consider his demand to be released.

During the last interrogation, in response to his stating his intention to go on a hunger strike, the interrogator reportedly said, “All the better; the regime has already too many hungry mouths to feed.”

35-year-old Mehdi Darini, a production engineer, was sentenced to five years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on a charge of ” blasphemy” and one year on a charge of “propaganda against the regime”. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a severest punishment of five years is enforceable.

Editor of News Outlet ‘Miandoab Press’ Summoned to Endure Eight Month Prison Sentence

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News, Prisoners
Aghai, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, Manoochehr Aghai, Miandoab, Miandoab Press, Miandoab prison, Sentenced in absentia

On Wednesday, October 5,  Manoochehr Aghai, Editor of the news outlet Miandoab Press, was sent to Miandoab Prison to begin his sentence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Aghai had previously been sentenced to eight months in prison on a charge of “propaganda against the regime”.

Aghai was sentenced in absentia. During the trial, published online news reports and viewers’ comments under his posts on social media were invoked as evidence against him.

Four Workers Killed and Three Injured due to Unsafe Workplace Conditions

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
Abhar, Fulad-Nab Arash, Lorestan, Lorestan province, unsafe workplace conditions, work condutions

On Tuesday, October 26, in Abhar City, unsafe workplace conditions at steel company Fulad-Nab Arash led to a fatal accident in which four workers were killed and three injured.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting ISNA, the cause of death for the three killed workers was nitrogen asphyxiation.

“On Tuesday at 4 pm, the medical emergency center was called about a work accident in Fulad-Nab Arash Company located in one of the industrial estates in Abhar City,” the public relations officer of the medical emergency of Abhar commented. “Immediately three ambulances were dispatched to the spot.”

He added, “One worker lost consciousness due to suffocation by nitrogen gas. Two others rushed to save him, but, unfortunately, they  suffocated too and all three lost their lives on the spot.”

The medical superintendent of forensic medicine of Abhar added that four other workers were injured. Three have been discharged from the hospital and the last is still under medical treatment.

The medical superintendent of forensic medicine in Lorestan Province reported that only in the first six months of this year, 346 workers have killed or injured in this province.

Iran ranks 102 in workplace safety out of 189 countries.

Inmate Executed in the Central Prison of Karaj City

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Capital Punishment, Central Penitentiary of Karaj, Central Prison of Karaj, Citizen executed, Death Penalty, Death row, Karaj, Karaj city, Khoramdasht

On Wednesday, October 20, an inmate was executed in the Central Prison of Karaj City.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Newspaper, the inmate had been previously sentenced to death for murdering his wife.

The report states that on November 12, 2018, a middle-aged man reported to the police station in Khoramdasht in Karaj city that his daughter was missing and had not returned home after leaving to go to university.

After a few days, the police found the missing girl’s half-burnt body beside a road. Forensic medicine revealed that the victim had been suffocated to death before the body was burned.

From further investigation, it turned out that after she found out about her husband’s cheating, she was killed by her husband and with the aid of his mistress. Reportedly, the man confessed the crime at trial. Subsequently, the court sentenced him to death and his mistress to ten years in prison on the charge of aiding in kidnapping and murder. The verdict was confirmed by the supreme court of Iran.

The most recent report of the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that between October 8 of 2020 and October 9 of 2021, at least 266 citizens, including three juvenile offenders, were executed and 90 citizens were sentenced to death.

The report does not mention the name of the executed man.

Three Political Prisoners Transferred from Urmia Prison to an Unknown Location

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Capital Punishment, Davood Jabbari, Death Penalty, Death sentence, ISIS, Mohyedin Ebrahimi, Mohyedin Tazehvared, Sunni, Urmia, Urmia prison

Sunni political prisoners Mohyedin Ebrahimi, Mohyedin Tazehvared and Davood Jabbari were recently transferred from Urmia Prison to an unidentified location. Given that two of these prisoners have been sentenced to death, this relocation raises concerns about them.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the whereabouts and conditions of these prisoners are unknown as of this writing. This relocation took place following the confirmation of the death sentences for Mohyeldin Ebrahimi and Mohyeldin Tazehvared. They have asked for a retrial.

On October 23, 2017, Mohyedin Ebrahimi was wounded by direct fire from an Iranian officer at Iraq’s border and arrested on a charge of smuggling alcoholic beverages. Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia subsequently sentenced him to death. Following an overturn of the verdict by the supreme court of Iran, the case was sent back to Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court for re-examination. The supreme court confirmed the verdict, and the death sentence was upheld.

On October 29, 2018, Mohyedin Tazehvared was arrested by security forces and transferred to Urmia Prison until the end of legal proceedings. He was also sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. Until now, his request for a retrial has not been answered.

On June 4, 2017, Davood Jabbari was arrested and then sentenced to 18 years imprisonment on the charge of “membership in ISIS (Daesh)”.