64 Prisoners testify: “Jailed activist Hoda Saber beaten up before death”
GVF — In a shocking new revelation, 64 political prisoners held in ward 350 of Iran’s notorious Evin prison have provided a more detailed account how inmate Reza Hoda Saber had been beaten up by state agents before his death on Sunday.
On Sunday, Kaleme reported that Hoda Saber, who had been arrested after the disputed 2009 presidential election, had died of cardiac complications after being transferred from Evin prison to Tehran’s Modarres hospital. The website had said that Saber’s heart complication had been induced by his hunger strike in prison.
Hoda Saber, along with fellow imprisoned activist Amir Khosro Dalir-Sani, had gone on hunger strike to protest the tragic murder of Iranian activist Haleh Sahabi at the funeral of her father Ezzatollah Sahabi.
political prisoner Hadi Abed Bakhoda who was on a medical leave from prison and was receiving treatment was once again returned to the Lakan Prison in Rasht despite the fact that his treatment was not yet finished.
This political prisoner is paralyzed and can only move with a wheelchair. A number of his body organs such as his bladder and kidneys no longer work. He has a urinary sack attached to his body which has to be changed on a daily basis but according to the head of the prison’s infirmary, these kinds of facilities do not exist in prison. It was for this reason that [during his last detention] his urinary sack was not changed for 40 days which led to a severe infection in his body.
This political prisoner was transferred back to prison which lacks minimum medical facilities even as the Medical Commission and Medical Examiner have announced in a written report to the Revolutionary Court that he cannot tolerate prison conditions and the prison infirmary has announced that it does not have the necessary facilities for Mr. Bakhoda and will not be held responsible [if anything were to happen].
Notably, the inhumane flogging sentence for this political prisoner was carried out in the 1st branch of the Rasht Revolutionary Court on May 23. Political prisoner Hadi Abed Bakhoda was sentenced to 51 lashes for not turning himself in on time. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Jun. 9, 2011)
There are grave concerns today for the health of Iranian political prisoner Abdollah Momeni, who is suffering cardiac complications and back problems. Momeni, a spokesman for the student organization Advar-e Takim-e Vahdat, was hospitalized twice in the past month for health complications, Jaras reports. Momeni is in critical condition, made worse by the lack of facilities at Ward 350 in Evin Prison, where he is being held with no chance of furlough.
Momeni was arrested in June 2009 in the aftermath of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election, which led to widespread protests and a violent government retaliation. Last September, Momeni wrote a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, claiming he had undergone “severe torture” and had been forced to sign a false confession for presentation at a “show trial.”
He was also part of a group of 25 political prisoners who wrote a letter describing their harsh torture at the hands of prison authorities. The Revolutionary Guards and the Prosecutor’s office put great pressure on the prisoners to recant their statements in the letter. Iranian authorities have not responded to allegations of torture in Iranian prisons.
Abdollah Momeni was sentenced to four years and 11 months in prison following the presidential elections. He was arrested on June 20, 2009 in the building of the Headquarters of Free Citizens, a group supporting Mehdi Karroubi, a Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opponent in the elections, who is now under house arrest as one of the two chief opposition leaders.
One of his charges includes sending emails regarding the ways to increase the use of electricity as a means of protesting the election results.
He was arrested in August of 2009 in front of his workplace and was transferred to an unknown location.
Aslani, 33, spent 185 days in solitary confinement of the IRGC run ward 2A and 70 days in the solitary confinement unit of Ward 209. He was then transferred to the ward 350 general ward. He has been sentenced to 4 years in prison.
The 19.5 prison sentence has been upheld for blogger Hossein Derakhshan. Derakhshan who was a resident of Canada was detained after travelling to Tehran. He was sentenced for blasphemy, collaborating with anti-regime governments, anti-regime propaganda, administering pornographic sites, membership in groups and activities in media.
Blogger and human rights activist Abdolreza Ahmadi was detained in February of 2009 and spent 4 months in the solitary confinement units of the IRGC-run Ward 2A of Evin Prison. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for acting against national security and disturbing public opinion.
RAHANA: Journalist and political activist Farid Salavati was detained after the security forces raided his residence in Isfahan.
According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he is the son of a prominent pre-revolution activist Fazollah Salavati
There is no news as to the condition of Ali Soleimanpour, member of Iran Teacher’s Organization, who had been detained 4 days ago (June 1st, 2011). The security forces detained Soleimanpour with a warrant and confiscated his computer and notes after searching his house. They also confiscated his store’s computer the following day.
He had previously been sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment and 35 lashes for his cultural activities.
Rasoul Bodaghi, Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Davari, Abdollah Momeni, Abdolreza Ghanbari and Nabiollah Bastan are all teachers who are currently serving their sentences in prison.
Anisa Dehghani, a Baha’i citizen, was apprehended by security agents on the eve of June 2, 2011 while a friend was giving her a ride to the bus terminal.
Human Rights House of Iran reported that this Baha’i citizen had traveled from Isfahan to Mashhad for a visit with her friends. Security forces in Mashhad arrested her and transferred her to the intelligence holding jail in this city.
To date she has been able to contact her family twice. Despite her family’s efforts, officials have given no explanation for Anisa’s arrest.
During the past few weeks many Baha’i citizens in Iran have been arrested and taken to prison. Instructors of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, which is an online Baha’i university, are among those recently incarcerated.
Baha’i citizen Pejman Nikounejad has been arrested along with his wife Sharareh Kashani. The officials who arrested them introduced themselves with a false identity and entered the house after the door was opened. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, they have been arrested for organizing a religious ceremony at their residence. The ten security agents who entered the house hit one of the individuals in the house and got the signature of the other people present promising that they would not participate in a religious ceremony. During the arrest, the faith related books, computers, satellite and some of the belongings were confiscated. The couple was arrested and there are no reports as to their whereabouts.
The Intelligence Ministry agents in Northern Iran had also arrested 3 Baha’i citizens by the names of Misagh Laghaei, Mahvand Laghaei and Nadia Farhadi who organized a religious ceremony, in the recent days.
Early Wednesday (June 8th, 2011) morning intelligence agents raided the home of Saeed Moghanli’s father. Security agents arrested the journalist from Azerbaijan in a village in Ardebil and transferred him to an undisclosed location. Human Rights House of Iran reported that Mr. Moghanli’s personal belongings were confiscated during the time of arrest. This social activist from the province of Azerbaijan has been arrested on numerous occasions in the past years and has been subjected to many interrogations.
To date there is no information about his condition and no disclosure of his location.
Blogger and human rights activist Abdolreza Ahmadi was detained in February of 2009 and spent 4 months in the solitary confinement units of the IRGC-run Ward 2A of Evin Prison. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, he has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for acting against national security and disturbing public opinion.
Sixteen prisoners were secretly hanged at Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison on May 23 and 24, says the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, citing “reliable sources.”
It reports that on May 23, twelve prisoners were hanged for drug charges. The next day, three sisters were hanged for drug charges and a convicted rapist was executed.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran had earlier reported that over the past two and a half months, 70 prisoners have been hanged in Vakilabad Prison. The campaign contends that the executions were drug related and carried out secretly and en masse. The campaign maintains that the prisoners were executed without prior notification to the families and lawyers of the prisoners. The recent surge in the number of executions in Iran has set off alarm bells in international human rights communities.
In March, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed “international concern” regarding the rise in executions in Iran and the conditions of prisoners at Mashhad’s Vakilabad Prison in particular.
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