November 6, 2010

UPDATE ON IRAN - Nov. 6, 2010

Tehran intelligence agents beat and abduct two labor activists 
Nov. 4, 2010
On Wednesday November 3 at about 9 am, two labor activists identified as Gholamreza Gholam-Hosseini and Saied Torabian were brutally attacked by six agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Karaj and were abducted. They were severely beaten upon their arrest transfer to solitary cells and sustained injuries in their stomach. They were separated in the Sepah Cellblock in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. There is currently no information on the condition of labor activist Gholamreza Gholam-Hosseini. He sustained multiple injuries. Before this, intelligence agents raided his home on October 11 and took his son hostage because he was not home.
Saied Torabian was released this morning on bail. He was also beaten upon arrest.
Gholam-Hosseini, 44, was arrested in 2005 during widespread strikes by employees of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company and was detained for weeks in Evin Prison. He was suspended from work for close to 4 years. He was able to return to work about 8 months ago but on July 24 he was once again suspended under false pretexts.

Kurd citizen beaten and arrested by security forces
Nov. 4, 2010
In the past few days, a Kurd citizen was arrested after being beaten by security forces in a village in the town of Oshnavieh.
According to reports, Osman Shojayi from the village of Narzivi was beaten by security forces after arrest and was taken to an unknown location.
Eyewitnesses described his condition as critical because of his injuries.
There is still no news on his charges or where he has been taken.

Evin Prison female inmates banned from using telephone
Nov. 4, 2010
The telephones lines in cellblock 2 in the female section of Evin Prison have been blocked and prisoners have been cut off from the outside world.
According to reports, political and human rights activists in this cellblock such as Bahareh Hedayat, Mahdieh Golro and Atefeh Nabavi are currently serving their prison term in this cellblock.
It is important to note that before this, the telephones in cellblock 350 in this prison where mostly political prisoners are detained were cut off by prison officials

Iran flogs 4 people in public
Nov. 4, 2010
The flogging sentence for four convicts in the town of Tabas was carried out in public.
Three of the convicts were sentenced to prison terms, fines and flogging on drug related charges and their flogging sentences were carried out in public.
Another one of the convicts was sentenced to prison and flogging on charges of robbery and was flogged in public. (Fars state-run News Agency) 

New Evin Prison warden increases pressure on political prisoners
Nov. 3, 2010
The new head of Evin Prison has banned all fruits and some food from cellblock 350 in his first measure. The head of this prison has been changed and Hojatollah Souri has taken the place of Farajollah Sedaqat.
According to reports, Sedaqat did not have a positive report card while he was warden and had threatened and exerted pressure on prisoners numerous times. He has now given his position to Souri who has violated the minimum rights of political prisoners by banning fruits in cellblock 350.
There are about 200 political prisoners in 350. A large number of them are prisoners who were arrested in post-election protests. After protests by political prisoners to the lack of fruits and other nutritious food in this cellblock, especially after 17 of them went on a hunger strike demanding better conditions in prison , prison officials finally accepted to bring fruit to the cellblock once a week enabling prisoners to buy fruit with their own money.
Before this, the lack of fruit and other nutritious food had caused a large number of prisoners to suffer from severe physical weakness because prison food contains low quality material and lacks most vitamins and fruit was completely eliminated from their diets to the point where a number of prisoners who had long prison terms had not tasted fruit for years. But now it is not clear why the new warden has banned fruit in his first measure.
In his second measure, Souri transferred student prison Kohyar Goudarzi to Rajayi Shahr Prison in Karaj. According to reports, this was done upon the request of intelligence interrogators and the new warden immediately carried out their request.
It has been five months that all telephones have been cut off in cellblock 350, but none of the Evin Prison officials including Souri have paid heed to the request of political prisoners to connect the phone lines.

Political prisoner banned from seeing father before his death
Nov. 3, 2010
According to reports, agents of the Intelligence Agency prevented political prisoner Karimpour Samadi from saying his last goodbyes to his father before his death. His father who was hospitalized for days in the ICU of the Shams Hospital in Tabriz passed away on November 1. Karimpour tried his best while his father awaited his son’s visit on his death bed to carry out his father’s last request but his interrogators prevented his visit and his father passed away waiting to see his son for the last time. This political prisoner was under severe pressure in this time and tried until the last moment to visit his father.
After his father’s death, Samadi is now trying to see if he can participate in his funeral but it is still not clear whether intelligence interrogators would allow this.
Karimpour Samadi was arrested on January 13, 2010 in the post-elections protests and was detained for more than five months in a solitary cell in Evin Prison’s cellblock 209. He was transferred to cellblock 350 and was then sent to Gohardasht Prison (Rajayi Shahr) in Karaj. He has been kept in a state of limbo for 9 months now.

Former political prisoner and mother of two sentenced to 3 years of prison
Nov. 3, 2010
According to reports, Zahra Safayi, a former political prisoner in the 80’s was sentenced to the heavy sentence of three years of prison in a show trial by Judge Salavati.
This 45 year old homemaker has two small children. She was tried some time ago by Salavati in a case that was opened seven years ago by the Ministry of Intelligence. This case was reopened again after seven years and she was summoned to the 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court to be tried.
Safayi is the only guardian of her two small children. Her father, Haj Safayi was a well-known bazaar merchant in Tehran who was arrested and executed in the 80’s.
Her nephew, political prisoner Hassan Tarlani is currently in prison after being arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence on February 21, 2008. He was sentenced to 10 years of prison to be served in Kerman Prison

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