Category: Freedom of Expression

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.

Imprisoned Telegram Activist Farrokh Abdi Issued Additional Sentence

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Freedom of Expression
farrokh abdi, freedom of expression, iran human rights, prisoner of conscience, telegram activist in prison in ran

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Last Thursday, August 16, 2018, Urmia resident and Telegram activist Farrokh Abdi was sentenced by Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Urmia to fifteen months of discretionary imprisonment for “insulting sanctities.”

Abdi previously received a three-year sentence from Branch 2, which was reduced to fifteen months in an appeals court, for “collaboration with anti-regime groups”.

An informed source told HRANA that Farrokh Abdi is currently detained in the general Ward 3-4 of Urmia Prison. In a punitive measure disproportional to the severity of his conviction, the source added, officials have forestalled his transfer to the prison’s political ward.

Iranian Actress Interrogated for her Instagram Posts

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Freedom of Expression
Parastoo Salehi

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – In response to a summons she received last Wednesday, film and TV actress Parastoo Salehi underwent interrogation on Sunday, August 19, 2018, by the Monitoring and Follow-Up Unit of the Iranian Judiciary.

Salehi reported that she was being called out for criticizing the economic and social situation in Iran on her social media account. Recently, she had used her public Instagram profile to decry such issues as embezzlement, the drop in the value of Iranian currency, citizens being detained for political reasons, rape, cases of child abuse, and the Caspian Sea Agreement.

“[The authorities] were friendly and respectful, but a summons is a summons,” Salehi said.

Salehi quoted her interrogators as saying, “You’re bringing everybody down with all of these problems. It doesn’t benefit the country or society.” She said they pressed her to name who she was “taking orders from” to direct her social media activity.

“I support the Iranian people, not any particular party, faction, or group” she added. “I only reflect on events and repeat what the people are saying. If we speak out, we are met with warnings and threats. If we don’t, we are accused of opportunism. I’ve been repeatedly asked by activists why I don’t join them on the streets.”

“I am not afraid,” she added. “What happened to Nasrin Sotoodeh [a recently imprisoned lawyer] and many others? I find it odd that amid all of these corrupt people, I am the one who gets summoned.”

Salehi added that “Rouhani’s administration is the worst Iran has seen in 40 years

Iranian Authorities Detain Lawyers and Civil Rights Activists

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Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Arash Keykhosravi, caspian sea, iranian parliament protest, Masoud Javadieh, mohammad mossadegh, Mohammad Nourizad, shole saadi

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – A number of lawyers and civil rights activists who had gathered in front of the Iranian Parliament building to protest both the Caspian Sea Agreement and the Guardian Council’s vetting process were arrested last Saturday, August 18th.

Mohammad Nourizad was among a group of detainees that were released a few hours later. Among three lawyers taken into custody, one — Masoud Javadieh — posted bail and was released the following day. Lawyers Ghasem Shole-Saadi and Arash Keykhosravi were transferred to the Great Tehran Penitentiary after being charged at Branch 5 of the Evin prosecutor’s office.

Mr Nourizad, a 66-year-old Iranian director, screenwriter, and journalist, had been taken into custody earlier this year in connection to his visits with the family of political prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Sanandaj Central Prison. Previously considered a religious radical, Nourizad joined with critics of the Islamic regime in the early 2000s and has continued in recent years to meet with the families of political detainees.

Upon his release on Saturday, Nourizad noted to reporters that Shole-Saadi had been interrogated for sharing a video, and conjectured that officials were building a case against him for that reason. In the video in question, Shole-Saadi can be heard voicing support of the late Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh, whose efforts to nationalize Iran’s oil industry were thwarted more than 70 years ago. In the recording, Shole-Saadi vows to appear before the Iranian Parliament building in protest of the Guardian Council’s vetting process.

Notably, Ghasem Shole-Saadi previously served two terms in the Islamic Consultative Assembly and was convicted of “insulting the leadership of the Islamic Republic” via a letter he notoriously published in 2002. He has been imprisoned several times on charges from the Revolutionary Court for “propaganda against the regime”.

Security Forces Storm the Residences of Civil Activists

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Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Evin Prison, iran human rights, jila makvandi, Mohammadreza (Davoud) Farhadpour, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Reza Khandan

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – This morning, Saturday, August 18, 2018, security forces of the Ministry of Intelligence stormed the private residences of Reza Khandan, Mr Khandan’s sister, Mohammadreza (Davoud) Farhadpour and Jila Makvandi. The security forces produced inspection orders issued by Branch 7 of Evin Court, searched the residences thoroughly and confiscated a number of items belonging to the aforementioned individuals.

Reza Khandan, the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, told HRANA, “This morning, Saturday, August 18, between 8 and 10 am, security forces of the Ministry of Intelligence entered our home and searched every inch of it. After that, they went to the home of Mr Mohammadreza (Davoud) Farhadpour and searched his home in its entirety as well. At the same time, in an unusual attempt, the security force went to my sister’s home and violently searched the entire place, going so far as individually inspecting every page of her child’s notebook. Two hours later, they arrived at our neighbor’s door and asked them a number of questions about us. It is likely that their invasion of my sister’s privacy is merely an attempt to further pressure my family; there simply is no other explanation for it. The security forces had in hand an order issued by the Branch 7 of Evin Court.”

Reza Khandan added, “The security forces were only looking for [pinback buttons] with [the words] ‘I oppose mandatory veiling’. They also took some of the letters that my wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, had sent from prison.”

This morning, Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi reported of her home’s inspection in a post affixed with the inspection order. She wrote, “This morning at 10 am agents from the Ministry of Intelligence inspected our home using this order. The inspection was in regards to Dr Maysami’s books and the [lapel pins] with the engraving‘I oppose mandatory veiling.’”

Furthermore, in the order issued by Branch 7 of Evin Court and posted by Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi, in addition to the inspection of her residence, it is stated that Farhad Maysami is being held in solitary confinement.

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Security Forces Arrest Citizen in Ahvaz

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Freedom of Expression
iran human rights, iran protests, majed savari

Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) – Majed Savari, a citizen from the city of Ahvaz (southwestern Iran), was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence forces early morning on Wednesday, August 15, 2018. According to an informed source, Mr Savari was transferred to an undisclosed location.

“He had participated in the popular protests against environmental pollution and the transport of water out of Karoun River. His family does not have any information about the reason for his arrest yet,” says the close source.

Majed Savari is a 26-year-old civil engineering student.

Revolutionary Court Racks up Punishments on Journalist Seyed Tabib Taghizadeh

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Freedom of Expression
Evin Prison, freedom of expression, iran human rights, persecuted journalists, Seyed Tabib Taghizadeh

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Seyed Tabib Taghizadeh, journalist and editorial board member of the website Baztab-e-Emrooz, has received a phone call from branch 1 of Evin Prison’s Office of Enforcement summoning him to serve a prison sentence–but that’s not all.

While Taghizadeh had been living in the shadow of the two-year suspended imprisonment issued to him in April 2018 for “acting against national security through connections with antagonistic media,” his attorney Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai told HRANA that new constraints have been tacked onto his client’s sentence, per a request from the bailiff of branch 23 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided by Judge Shahmirzadi.

“According to the [updated] verdict,” his attorney explained, “Mr. Taghizadeh […] will be banned from professional media activities for five years; he will also be prohibited for three years from traveling, political activity, membership in political parties, and cyber activities.” Per the terms of his amended sentence, Taghizadeh will also be mandated to present himself in Evin court once per year.

Taghizadeh was arrested for working to rehabilitate the Baztab-e-Emrooz website after it was filtered in his home during a February 8, 2016 raid by authorities. Upon his arrest, he was transferred to solitary confinement in ward 209 of Evin prison where he stayed for 36 days. After having a stroke in prison, he was released on bail.

A close source to Taghizadeh previously told HRANA that he proclaimed innocence, denying a relationship with the former editorial board of Baztab-e-Emrooz. However, the court cited instances of [filtered] web content that was later republished, such as news of an attack on Ayatollah Sanei’s office that had appeared in Farsi-language media outside of the country. Such instances were raised and accepted as sufficient evidence of Taghizadeh’s connection to “antagonistic” media.

Reporters Without Borders, a news agency specializing in the restrictions placed on reporters working across the world, identified Iran in its 2017 report as one of the world’s top 5 prison funnels for media activists. As imprisoned reporters are released after completing their sentences, more continue to find themselves on trial or behind bars for their work.

Telegram Activist Transferred to Intelligence Ward in Evin Prison

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Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Alireza Tavakoli, iran human rights, mohammad mehdi saleh, Mohammad Mohajer, Telegram

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Alireza Tavakoli, a Telegram activist who was held in Tehran’s Evin Prison for more than two years, was transferred yesterday from Ward 8 to a ward in the prison known as “209”, which is operated by the Ministry of Intelligence and does not fall under prison jurisdiction.

A source close to Mr Tavakoli told HRANA: “Alireza Tavakoli was transferred from Ward 8 to Ward 209, and the Ministry of Intelligence is likely to open a new prosecution against him.”

In July, Mr Tavakoli had written an open letter to Seyed Mahmoud Alavi, a cleric and Intelligence Minister appointed by Hassan Rouhani, regarding his five-year prison sentence, calling the verdict “outrageous”.

Alireza Tavakoli was arrested in 2016 on blasphemy charges along with two other Telegram activists, Mohammad Mohajer and Mohammad Mehdi Zaman Saleh. They were sentenced to a 12-year prison term each, but their sentences were reduced by an appeals court to five years each.

Mr Tavakoli suffers from joint and intestinal pain. Recently, judicial authorities opposed a request by the Ministry of Intelligence to conditionally release Alireza Tavakoli, Mohammad Mohajer and Mohammad Mehdi Saleh.

Ali Qadiri Sentenced to Imprisonment in Two Separate Cases

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Freedom of Expression
Ali Qadiri

HRANA News Agency – Ali Qadiri who had been detained in recent protests in Tabriz, was sentenced to suspended imprisonment in two separate cases.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Ali Qadiri was sentenced to one year suspended imprisonment and 6 months imprisonment in two separate cases.  Continue reading “Ali Qadiri Sentenced to Imprisonment in Two Separate Cases”

Two Activists Summoned and Interrogated in Rudsar

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Freedom of Expression
Ismail Fakouri, Yazdan Mohammad Beigi

HRANA News Agency – Ismail Fakouri and Yazdan Mohammad Beigi, two political activists from Rudsar were summoned by security agencies, and were interrogated on charge of disturbing the public opinion. After completing the interrogation process, Mr. Fakouri was released on bail, but Mr. Beigi was detained for two days.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Ismail Fakouri and Yazdan Mohammad Beigi, two political activists from Rudsar were summoned and interrogated on Saturday February 24. Continue reading “Two Activists Summoned and Interrogated in Rudsar”