Tag: Evin Prison

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.

Fifteen Days after Arrest, Farhad Meysami Still Held Incommunicado

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Prisoners
ahmad meysami, civil rights activists in iran, Evin Prison, iran human rights, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – On August 12th, Farhad Meysami’s mother, along with lawyer Arash Keykhosravi, went to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Evin Prison to inquire about his status and register Keykhosravi as Meysami’s attorney. Evin’s interrogation branch 7 denied the registration, referencing clause 48 of Iran’s Criminal Procedures Regulations.

HRANA reported on Meysami’s arrest by security forces in his home on the evening of July 31, 2018. He was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison and has not been heard from since.

Keykhosravi confirmed that he was denied the right to represent Meysami on August 12th, adding that Meysami’s mother was frantically seeking answers after receiving a phone call in which sounds of her son’s torture, and supposed confession, could be heard. The interrogator at Branch 7 denied the call was made by prison authorities, and promised her a well-check phone call from her son.

Stating that there is no further information available about Meysami’s charges, Keykhosravi continued, “Many cases involving security charges have no security basis at all. When someone criticizes an issue or actively stands up against something, the government immediately treats it as a national-security case and deprives that person of their basic and fundamental rights. As it concerns Mr. Meysami, we suspect he was arrested for his criticism of the mandatory hijab, which affects neither domestic nor foreign security. Objections like these are the mere expression of differing ideas and perspectives. Elevating such cases into security accusations is a violation of people’s fundamental rights, including the right to choose a lawyer, which is revoked per clause 48 of the Criminal Procedures Regulations.”

According to clause 48 of the new Criminal Procedure, during the initial stages of investigation against those accused of political and national-security crimes, defendants must pick their attorney from a list of lawyers pre-approved by the judiciary. Citizens’ rights organizations claim that this law infringes on the rights of the accused.

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.

Political Activist Majid Azarpey Arrested, Begins Prison Sentence

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, iran human rights, Majid Azarpey, Political Prisoners, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Majid Azarpey, a reformist political activist, was arrested on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, and transferred to the quarantine ward of Evin Prison.

Azarpey was sentenced in November 2015 to six and a half years in prison and fined approximately $300 USD (30,000,000 Rial) by branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Moghiseh. His sentence was reportedly upheld by branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court in November 2017.

When he was arrested on Wednesday, he was complying with a phone call he had received on Monday, summoning him to Evin court to pay the $300 fine.

Azarpey was previously arrested in June 2015 by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence agents and released after eight months on approximately a $70,000 USD (7 billion Rial) bail on February 10, 2016.

Two New Cases Opened Against Nasrin Sotoudeh

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, iran human rights, Nasrin Sotoudeh, prisoner of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Payam Derafshan, the lawyer of prominent lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, has announced that two new case files have been opened against his client. Ms Sotoudeh is currently detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

According to a report by the state-run news agency IRNA, Mr Derafshan said: “My client was recently arrested after being convicted in absentia by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.” According to Ms Sotoudeh’s lawyer, she was charged with “Propaganda against the regime” and “Insulting the Supreme Leader”, but despite this, Branch 28 issued a ruling on the charge of “Espionage”.

According to Payam Derafshan, Nasrin Sotoudeh is currently serving a five-year prison term on the charge of espionage, which is not mentioned in her indictment. Ms Sotoudeh was previously arrested in September 2010 and sentenced to an 11-year prison term, a 20-year ban from practicing law, and a 20-year travel ban. Her sentence was reduced by an appeals court to a six-year prison term and a 10-year ban from practicing law. Nasrin Sotoudeh was released from prison after serving three years. She was arrested again in June 2018.

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Narges Mohammadi Transferred to Hospital Following Deterioration of Health

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, human rights activists in iran, iran human rights, LEGAM, Narges Mohammadi, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Narges Mohammadi, Deputy Head of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders who is detained in Evin Prison, was transferred to the hospital early Monday morning following the deterioration of her health. On August 6th, prison authorities reportedly prevented her from seeing a neurologist.

Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh (also imprisoned in Evin), said in a note that during his last prison visit, Ms Sotoudeh had informed him of Ms Mohammadi’s critical physical condition and her urgent need to be transferred to the hospital. “Nasrin told me in a phone call that Narges Mohammadi suffered a seizure at 5:00 am and was sent to Imam Khomeini Hospital…” Mr Khandan said.

Narges Mohammadi was previously sent to the hospital on Saturday, June 30th and was returned to Evin prison on Thursday, July 5th after undergoing surgery.

According to Mahmoud Behzadirad, Ms Mohammadi’s lawyer, she suffers from bladder and gallbladder problems. “Six years and four months have passed since my client’s detention and there are around three years and eight months left on her sentence. However, despite the possibility of receiving the conditional release, her requests have not been approved so far,” said Mr Behzadirad.

In May 2016, a revolutionary court sentenced Narges Mohammadi to a 16-year prison term. The main accusation against her (making up 10 years of her sentence) was her cooperation to establish LEGAM, a campaign to abolish the death penalty. The court reportedly called her cooperation with the peaceful campaign as “creating a society aimed at undermining the security of the country”.

Ms Mohammadi stated that during her trial session, the judge was hostile and biased toward her and openly defended the allegations brought against her by Ministry of Intelligence officials. She said the judge accused her of attempting to change “divine laws” through her anti-death penalty activities. The other six years of Ms Mohammadi’s sentence are for the charges of “Gathering and colluding against national security” and “Propaganda against the regime”. The charges against Ms Mohammadi are based on media interviews she gave regarding human rights violations, her participation in peaceful gatherings to support families of prisoners on death row, her contact with other human rights defenders (including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi), her participation in peaceful protests to condemn acid attacks against women and her 2014 meeting with Catherine Ashton.

In September 2016, Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court upheld Narges Mohammadi’s prison sentence. In May 2017, her request for a retrial was reportedly rejected by Iran’s Supreme Court.

Appeals Court Date Set for Imprisoned Evangelical Activist

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Prisoners, Religious Minorities
christians in iran, Evin Prison, Fatemeh Mohammadi, imprisoned christians, iran human rights, Majid Reza Souzanchi, political prisoners in Iran, Prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Majid Reza Souzanchi, 34, Christian convert detained in Evin Prison, has received a summons order to appear before Branch 54 of the Tehran Appeals court on December 11, 2018.

He was tried on April 25, 2018, along with Fatemeh Mohammadi for “Membership in Evangelical Groups and Evangelical Activities”, presided by Judge Ahmadzadeh. Mr Souzanchi was sentenced to five years in prison and Ms Mohammadi received a six-month prison sentence on charges of “Engaging in Evangelical activities” and “Acting against national security through propaganda against the regime”.

A source close to the defendants told HRANA that Mr Souzanchi suffered from broken ribs as a result of being beaten up twice during his interrogation by Intelligence Ministry agents. Souzanchi is also worried that his home was searched while he was in prison and some of his personal belongings and family photos were confiscated. He has written several letters [to the authorities] on the matter but has not received any response. In June, his prison cell was raided by agents who confiscated his personal belonging including a notebook in which he had written excerpts from the Bible.

Prison officials refer to Mr Souzanchi as “impure” and “Daeshi” (a member or ISIS). Mr Rostami, the Prosecutor’s representative, had told Mr Souzachi and Ms Mohammadi that “if we were in you Christians’ hands, you would have executed us”. Samad Hadipour, the investigator of Evin court’s Branch 3, referred to the church as a “casino”.

According to the Iranian Constitution, Christianity is a recognized religion. However, security apparatus in Iran are extremely sensitive toward Muslims converting to Christianity, and aggressively pursue evangelist activists.

Article 26 of the Iranian constitution guarantees religious minorities’ rights: “….recognized religious minorities’ associations are free [to exist]…and no one can be forced to participate in these associations or prevented from participating in one of them”.

Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President, during last year’s presidential election campaign stressed the importance of civil rights, and published a “Civil Rights Charter”. However, these promises have not been carried out.

Article 99 of the Charter states: “Citizens have the right to access facilities to participate in cultural life [of their choice], including the right to found associations, perform religious, cultural, and ethnic ceremonies as long as they respect the laws”.

“We still can’t believe it” Imprisoned Lawyer Reacts to Death of Homa Soltani

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Prisoners
Abdolfatah Soltani, Evin Prison, homa soltani, iran human rights, letters from political prisoners, Nasrin Sotoudeh, revolutionary court, saeed moratazavi

Human Rights Activists’ News Agency (HRANA) — Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist who has been detained in Tehran’s Evin prison since June 13th on charges of collusion and propaganda against the regime, has written an open letter in reaction to the sudden death of Homa Soltani, daughter of fellow Evin prisoner Abdolfattah Soltani who is also a lawyer and activist. Ms Soltani recently died from a heart attack at the age of 27.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a prominent human rights lawyer who has a history of arrests and imprisonment for her outspoken defense of human rights. Below is the English translation of Ms Sotoudeh’s letter:

My darling girl, my dear Homa,

It has been three days since you flew away from this world and we still can’t believe it. In our disbelief, we still wish that it could be a lie. Ah, if only it could be a nightmare, if only…

The women’s prison mourns for you. You had lost the embrace of your father years ago, my dear one. You know what, Homa? A father’s embrace gives one security and you were without it for years. This was something no one else could give you.

Many only knew about the seven years that you had been deprived of your father thanks to the revolutionary courts of injustice. But as far as I remember, your father was always dealing with his cases – cases for activists, colleagues and those they made against himself. You were raised with this news around you, you grew up like this and anxiety filled your childish existence. The temptation of human rights, the rights of dissidents, the rights of the accused and the rights of this person or that didn’t leave your father, Abdolfattah Soltani, alone. He had so honestly given his honor to the community of lawyers that he had forgotten himself and his family; how sad is this story.

Your father was once sentenced to three months in prison. Another time, the revolutionary court of injustice gave him five years but the appeals court repealed it. But the machinery of violence didn’t stop working against this freedom-loving lawyer. During the election crisis of 2009, they once more sought him first and he had to spend two months in detention. He was freed and two years later again arrested. Prison, prison, prison…

I don’t think of what made your father tick because I know it so well. I think of the world of your childhood, your teenage years, your youth; how innocently it was crushed under the weight of our ideals and their violence.

My dear Homa,

What happened to you every time your father was arrested? To you, your sister, brothers and mother?

I have asked myself many times: If Homa had her father by her side every morning when she woke up; if her father took her to university, school or work on some days and was with her throughout her daily problems; if they had dinner together at nights and then slept under the same roof; would the same happen to Homa? No, never…

Nasrin Sotoudeh
Women’s Prison
August 2018

***

Abdolfattah Soltani, who is being held in Evin Prison, was granted a furlough to take part in his daughter’s funeral.

Amnesty International reacted to Homa’s death and asked for the immediate release of Abdolfattah Soltani and all human rights defenders.

On August 5th, Saeed Dehqan, Mr Soltani’s lawyer, wrote to President Hassan Rouhani to say his client had been arrested by the political decisions of people such as former judge Saeed Mortazavi.

Mr Soltani is spending his seventh year in Evin. He has contracted many illnesses in prison.

Abdolfattah Soltani was first arrested on September 10, 2011. He was accused of having accepted the International Nuremberg Human Rights Award, speaking to the media about his clients and taking part in the founding of the Center for the Defenders of Human Rights. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and barred from practising law for 20 years. An appeals court reduced his sentence to 13 years and it was further reduced to 10 years based on the provisions of the new Iran penal code. His disbarring has also been reduced to two years.

Conditional Release for Political Prisoner Mohammad Mozaffari

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Prisoners
Evin Prison, iran human rights, judge Salavati, Mohammad Mozaffari, political prisoners in Iran, revolutionary court

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Mohammad Mozaffari, political activist serving a two-year sentence since June 18, 2018, was conditionally released from Tehran’s Evin Prison. A source close to Mr Mozaffari confirmed his temporary release to HRANA.

According to HRANA, Mr Mozaffari was sentenced on May 3, 2016, by branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Salavati, to a two-year prison term, a 2,000,000 Tomans cash penalty (approximately $600 USD) and 74 lashes. His lashing sentence was reportedly carried out on August 5, 2018.

Mohammad Mozaffari was arrested on February 15, 2015, and transferred to the Revolutionary Guard’s Intelligence Unit in Evin Prison. After three months of interrogations, he was transferred to Ward 8 of this prison until his release on July 12, 2015.

Azerbaijani Activist Released While Another Remains in Prison

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Ethnic Minorities, Prisoners
azerbaijani activist in Iran, babak fort, Ebrahim Noori, Evin Prison, iran human rights, kiumars eslami, kiyomars eslami

Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) – Ebrahim Noori, an Azerbaijani activist from the city of Ahar who was arrested during the Babak Fort gatherings on July 2 and sent to Ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison continues to be held after almost 40 days. Mr Noori is reportedly banned from contacting his family.
A source close to Mr Noori told HRANA that Mr Noori was only allowed to speak to his brother on the phone “for a few seconds”.
Born in 1991 in the city of Ahar, Mr Noori was previously convicted twice of “Acting against national security by waging propaganda against the regime.” He had received a combined suspended sentence of 16 months.
Babak Fort, a monument built during the pre-Islamic Sassanian period, is named after Babak Khorramdin, known for leading an uprising against the Abbasid caliphate in 893. In recent years, it has become a place of symbolic gatherings for Azerbaijani activists, especially during the annual commemorations in the first week of July.
Kiyomars Eslami, another Azerbaijani activist, was also arrested during the same annual gatherings. He was reportedly released on bail on August 9th.
Mr Eslami, who hails from the city of Moqan, was released on Thursday after a month in Moqan Prison. He posted a bail worth 120 million rials. He was arrested on July 4 and suffered bleeding in the head after he was beaten by Iranian authorities during interrogations. Mr Eslami had gone on a nine-day hunger strike which he began on July 28 in protest to the prison conditions and his unclear situation.
Ebrahim Noori is the only individual who remains detained from those who were arrested in connection to the Babak Fort gatherings.