Amneh Zaheri Sari, Arab-Iranian Prisoner, Assaulted at Sepidarsepehr Prison in Ahvaz

Amneh Zaheri Sari, an Arab-Iranian prisoner in the women’s ward of Sepidarsepehr Prison in Ahvaz, was beaten by guards in the ward and sustained severe injuries to her arm.

The Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners reported on Wednesday, June 3, that Amneh Zaheri Sari, an Arab-Iranian prisoner, following her protest against mistreatment and poor conditions at Sepidarsepehr Prison in Ahvaz, was subjected to abuse and beatings by guards in the women’s ward. Her arm sustained severe injuries, yet prison authorities are preventing her from receiving medical treatment.

Previously, in May of this year, an informed source told the Campaign that Amneh Zaheri Sari’s physical condition is poor and she suffers from acute swelling in some parts of her body. According to the diagnosis of a doctor at the Sepidarsepehr Prison clinic in Ahvaz, she should be transferred to a hospital. Although bail has been prepared for her release, the court has opposed her freedom and prevented her transfer to medical centers outside the prison.

Amneh Zaheri Sari, a graduate in accounting, was arrested on November 6, 2018, during widespread arrests of Khuzestan residents and just one day after her brother and father were detained by the Ministry of Intelligence. On December 17 of the same year, Branch 12 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz issued a three-billion-rial bail order for this political prisoner.

According to available information, despite the issuance of a bail order for Ms. Zaheri Sari, authorities and security agencies in Ahvaz have opposed her release. To date, precise information regarding the reasons for her detention and charges against this prisoner remains unavailable.

According to Amnesty International’s 2018 report, more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists in Iran, were arrested and hundreds were sentenced to prison.

Source: Voice of America