Amnesty International Calls for Release of Habib and Vahid Afkari from Prison

Amnesty International has issued a call urging people and human rights activists worldwide to write to Ibrahim Raisi, Head of the Judiciary, to demand the release of Habib and Vahid Afkari from Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz.

On Monday, June 7, Amnesty International issued this appeal and, noting that the detention of the Afkari brothers constitutes “arbitrary detention” under international law, called on people and human rights activists to use their voices and pens, inspired by this call, to respond to the detention of these two brothers and to demand that Iranian authorities ensure the Afkari brothers have regular visits with their family members until their release.

This human rights organization stated that Islamic Republic authorities are subjecting the Afkari brothers to torture and “other cruel and inhumane treatment.”

Previously, a source close to the Afkari family told Voice of America that before the execution of Navid Afkari, when the three brothers were transferred to solitary cells, all three were beaten. At that time, a complaint regarding the beating was filed in the presence of the head of the Farsi Province Judiciary and individuals who were said to have been sent by the legal medicine organization to the prison.

Amnesty International further called on people and human rights activists to demand that Ibrahim Raisi ensure that these two brothers have access to medical care until their release.

Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Iranian wrestler and one of the detainees arrested during public protests who was accused of murder, was executed on Saturday, September 12, in Shiraz. Despite his family and lawyers emphasizing that there was no acceptable evidence of his role in the murder, he was buried under strict security measures.

Vahid and Habib, brothers of this wrestler, have also been sentenced to 54 years and 27 years in prison with lashing, respectively, on similar charges. This is while the Afkari brothers, while denying the charges against them, particularly the murder of a security officer, have repeatedly stated that they were forced under severe pressure and torture to make false confessions.

Human rights organizations state that the Islamic Republic does not fairly investigate charges and sometimes innocent people have been tried and even executed.

Source: Voice of America