Media Representatives and Political Activists Barred from ‘Health Justice’ Court Hearing
The court session examining charges against several lawyers and civil activists who were prosecuted for protesting the “failure to timely purchase vaccines and contain coronavirus” by senior Iranian officials took place today while media representatives and political activists were prevented from attending.
Vida Rabani, a reformist journalist, wrote in a tweet referencing this session that today she along with “a number of political activists” including Mostafa Tajzadeh (a former official in Mohammad Khatami’s Interior Ministry) arrived to attend the “Health Justice” court hearing, but “were not allowed to be present.”
This eyewitness described the proceedings of today’s court session at Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, which is hearing one of the protesters against “mismanagement and deadly handling of coronavirus disease in Iran”: “We were only able to see Mehdi Mahmoudian for a few moments before entering the Revolutionary Court, after he had finally been allowed to wear his own clothes (instead of prison clothes).”
On December 18, 2021, Mehdi Mahmoudian had refused to attend court due to “being forced to wear prison clothes during transfer,” and the court session proceeded only with the presence of Arash Keykhosravi, a lawyer and another defendant in the case, at Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court.
Elham Zolfaghari, Mehdi Mahmoudian’s wife, said yesterday in publishing a statement on his behalf: “Mehdi again requested from judicial officials that the conditions for holding a truly public trial with the right of independent media representatives to attend be provided.”
She also stated, quoting the civil activist who is in Evin Prison: “(Mehdi) invited all media, political, social and civil activists to participate in this session.”
Meanwhile, Zolfaghari tweeted today, referencing “part of what Mehdi Mahmoudian said today in the Health Justice court,” and wrote quoting him: “If pursuing justice for the lives of thousands of Iranian citizens is an action against national security, then what is facilitating the death of at least forty thousand compatriots due to incompetence in timely importing coronavirus vaccines?”
Source: Radio Farda
