Iranian Authorities Remain Silent on Kouhyar Goudarzi’s Condition

The Committee of Human Rights Reporters — Nearly two months following Kouhyar Goudarzi’s arrest, there is still no information available on his condition. According to earlier unofficial reports, Kouhyar Goudarzi was held in ward 240 solitary confinement in Evin prison. However, since Iranian authorities have remained silent on Kouhyar’s condition and location, it is not possible to confirm his current situation.

According to the citizenship regulations approved by the Iranian judicial system in 2006, holding a prisoner in solitary confinement is considered a form of psychological torture and has been declared illegal. Nevertheless, holding political prisoners in solitary confinement has become a common method of torture in Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader stated the following in a speech he delivered two years ago: “I spent 17 days in solitary confinement during the Shah’s regime.” He had acknowledged that being held captive in a solitary cell is a form of psychological torture.

The continued silence on Kouhyar Goudarzi’s current condition is considered inhuman. Since his arrest, Kouhyar Goudarzi has been denied the right to call his family members or meet with them. According to the civil rights regulations, a person arrested has the right to immediately notify their family on the location of their detention. Telephone calls and visitation rights with the family are legal rights explicitly emphasized as a defendant’s rights.

Kouhyar Goudarzi was arrested in Tehran on July 31st along with two of his friends, including his roommate Behnam Ganji, who was held in prison for eight days and committed suicide shortly after his release. The reason for the suicide is unknown. On the night of September 28th, Nahal Sahabi, Behnam Ganji’s girlfriend also committed suicide. According to unofficial reports, she was suffering from depression after Behnam’s death. Behnam Ganji’s suicide has raised serious concerns regarding Kouhyar Goudarzi’s unknown situation.

Kouhyar Goudarzi’s mother Parvin Mokhtare was arrested on August 1st at her home in Kerman. She is held in the general ward of Kerman prison. Recently, Parvin Mokhtare was tried in court then transferred back to prison.

Previously, Kouhyar Goudarzi was arrested by security forces on December 20, 2009, as he was on his way to Ayatollah Montazeri’s funeral in Qom. The court sentenced him to one year in prison. He was held in both Evin and Rajai Shahr prisons. The human rights activist was released on December 14, 2010, after completing his sentence.

In the past two months, various international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and Front Line have issued statements expressing concern over Kouhyar Goudarzi’s unknown condition and location.

The Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) is concerned about the continued incommunicado detention of Kouhyar Goudarzi. CHRR condemns any acts, such as physical and psychological pressure, to obtain confessions from the accused. CHRR requests from the public to focus on the damaging effects solitary confinement has on a defendant.

Iranian Authorities Remain Silent on Kouhyar Goudarzi’s Condition

Ali Akbar Mohammadzadeh, Sharif University student activist, sentenced by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court to 6 years behind bars.

Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court issued its sentence for Ali Akbar Mohammadzadeh, student activist at Sharif University who has spent the last few months behind bars in Evin prison. In accordance to Penal Code 510 and 600, he was charged with “illegal assembly” and “propaganda against the regime.”According to Human Rights House of Iran, 5 years were handed down for “illegal gathering and collusion” and another year for “’propaganda against the regime.”

Ali Akbar was in court without his original lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht who was not able to be present at the court due to the date of the trial being changed. Court officials had told Saleh Nikbakht to be present at court at the end of the week, but they postponed the court 48 hours followed by another 34 hours. During this time, he was not allowed to review the files of his client. Therefore Ali Akbar’s family had no alternative but to change lawyers and use a new lawyer at the court session.

Ali Akbar’s sentence was announced 50 days after his trial and it has been appealed by Mohammadzadeh and his lawyer. The date of the appellate court session is not known.

Even though Mohammadzadeh’s activities were in the university, Judge Salavati insisted that Ali Akbar confess to taking part in activities outside of his school and the judge attached additional charges during Ali Akbar’s trial. Among those allegations are that he participated in illegal off-campus gatherings.

Ali Akbar Mohammadzadeh, Secretary of the Students Islamic Association of Sharif University of Technology, was beaten up by security forces and violently detained across his university on February 15, 2011. During the past 2 years, this student activist had been summoned, threatened and interrogated several times by the Office of the Ministry of Information.

Human Rights House of Iran

Alireza Roshan arrested along with a number of administrators from Majzooban Noor, a Gonabadi Dervish website

Human Rights House of Iran – Reporter Ali Reza Roushan, and a number of other administrators of the “Majzooban Noor” Gonabadi Dervish website were arrested by intelligence officers and transferred to an undisclosed location.

Ali Reza Roushan, poet, writer and head of the book section of Shargh Newspaper, was detained at his home and transferred to an undisclosed location.

Ali Reza Roshan is a poet who has published a collection of poems called “There is no book” and his poetry has been translated into French.

Reporters at Majzooban Noor website have reported that a number of their colleagues and supervisors have been arrested. The names of the arrested reporters are Hamid Moradi Sarvestani, Reza Entesari, Alireza Roushan, Ali Karami, Mehdi Osanloo, Mehdi Hosseini, Ali Astaraki, Mostafa Abdi, and Mehran Rahbari. Despite being arrested by plainclothes officials, judiciary authorities have not shared any information regarding the whereabouts of the arrested.

This website has reported that in addition to the 9 colleagues mentioned above who were arrested in Tehran, another 2 were also detained. They are 2 Dervishes by the names of Nusrat Tabasi and Ali Moazami.

Nosrat Tabasi is a Dervish who was arrested on September 4th at his home and transferred to an undisclosed location by security agents.

Prior to this there was a violent incident on Friday September 2nd in Kavar County at Fars Province where Basij forces used tear gas and opened fire on a number of Nematollahi Gonabadi Dervishes, resulting in many injuries.

During these clashes a large number of Dervishes in the city of Kavar were arrested. Also on September 3rd several plainclothes officials raided the homes of 2 Dervishes named Shahbaz Zareh and Amanollah Cheraghi without arrest warrants. When they discovered these two individuals were not home, the agents detained their fathers, Manouchehr Zareh and Hossein Ali Cheraghi.

Majsooban Noor website reported that on Sunday September 4th, a group of Dervishes from Sirjan and Kurd City who were on their way to Kavar county were arrested by plainclothes officials. The names of the arrested are Ahmad Reza Hosseini, Akbar Ahmadi, Mehdi Azizi, Mohammad Mousavi, Jamal Hosseini, Khosrow Dari, Hasan Veyes Ghali, Hossein Asadi, Majid Moteghian, and Hamid Pourreza Ghali.

Also on the early morning hours of September 4th, 13 plainclothes officials accompanied by 2 soldiers attacked the home of Abdolreza Arayesh, a member of the Nematollahi Gonabadi Dervish group. The plainclothes officials detained him and transferred him to an undisclosed location after confiscating personal documents and cultural items from his home.

Also arrested were a number of Gonbadi Dervishes who were visiting relatives or had accompanied the injured from the incident at Kava, to the Rajai Shiraz Hospital. The names of those arrested are Hamid Pourreza Gholi, Khosrow Dari, Majid Moteghian, Hossein Assadi Fereidooni, Hassan Veisghali, Hamid Parhizgar and Hekmat Naderi.

All the detained Gonbadi Dervishes from the Kavar county incident were transferred to the headquarters of the Shiraz security police.

http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=11810