Ismael Abdi was transferred from Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
Esmael Abdi, a teacher union activist, was transferred from Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on Tuesday, March 16. Mr. Abdi, who had been transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison on Saturday, March 13 without prior coordination, was transferred to the Karaj Police Station detention center by Amin Vaziri, the special assistant prosecutor for political prisoners, on the pretext of not issuing a transfer order. On Sunday, he was handcuffed and shackled and taken to the Karaj Prosecutor’s Office in a vehicle transporting prisoners accused of violent crimes, and eventually temporarily returned to Evin Prison.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, March 16, 2020, Esmaeil Abdi, a teacher union activist, was transferred from Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
Mr. Abdi, who is being held in quarantine at Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, continues to be denied the right to make phone calls. This transfer was carried out by security forces on the orders of Amin Vaziri, the deputy prosecutor overseeing political prisoners.
Mr. Abdi, who was transferred from Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on Saturday, March 13 without prior coordination, was transferred to the Karaj Police Station detention center by Amin Vaziri, the Special Assistant to the Prosecutor for Political Prisoners, on Saturday night under the pretext of not issuing a transfer order. On Sunday morning, Ismail Abdi was handcuffed and shackled and taken to the Karaj Prosecutor's Office in vehicles transporting prisoners accused of violent crimes, and finally, at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night, temporarily returned to Evin Prison until his transfer.
Previously, an informed source told HRANA in this regard: “On Sunday, the Karaj Prosecutor’s Office refused to transfer him to Rajai Shahr Prison. As a result, he was returned to Tehran. However, because his name had also been crossed off the list of prisoners in Evin Prison, Evin Prison initially refused to accept him. Finally, after several hours of wandering and being transferred between Tehran police stations, he was returned to Evin Prison and kept in quarantine room 4, deprived of the right to make phone calls, until his case was re-determined and an order to transfer him to Rajai Shahr Prison was issued.”
This informant told HRANA about Mr. Abdi’s transfer: “After Ismail Abdi was transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, they kept him in quarantine for a few hours and even took a coronavirus test. However, after the prison authorities contacted Amin Vaziri, the special prosecutor for political prisoners, to receive a transfer order, he said that he did not have time and that Mr. Abdi should be transferred to a police station near the prison. At the police station this morning, when the shift changed, they messed up Mr. Abdi’s belongings, which led to a verbal altercation and ultimately the use of handcuffs and shackles during his transfer.”
This teachers' union activist previously went on a hunger strike on March 8 to protest the imposition of new restrictions and the deprivation of contact rights while being transferred to Ward 6 of the prison, and ended her strike on March 10 after her demands were met.
According to an informed source, Mr. Abdi's transfer from Ward 8 to Ward 6 of Evin Prison was carried out in violation of the principle of segregation of crimes and under the pretext of issues such as reciting poetry and giving a speech at the memorial service for Behnam Mahjoubi, a Gonabadi dervish who died a short time ago.
Esmail Abdi was arrested after hours of interrogation on July 26, 2015, when he went to Evin Prosecutor's Office to inquire about the reason for his travel ban. After six months of detention, in March of the same year, he was sentenced to six years in prison by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Salavati, on charges of propaganda against the regime, gathering, and collusion against national security, with five years of which being enforceable.
Mr. Abdi was sent on leave from Evin Prison on March 17, 2020, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country. On Monday, May 2, 2020, while he had applied to the Evin Prison Prosecutor's Office to extend his leave following the issuance of a leave circular by the judiciary, he was arrested and sent back to prison.
This imprisoned teacher was sentenced to ten years in prison, suspended for five years, in July 2011, under Articles 500 (propaganda against the regime) and 505 (communication with hostile states). In May of this year, Mr. Abdi’s lawyer, Hossein Taj, announced the re-issuance of the 10-year suspended sentence for his client. In October of this year, this citizen’s request for a retrial was rejected by Branch 14 of the Supreme Court.
Source: HRANA
