Arrest of a political prisoner's brother in front of the parliament; Reza Shahabi's arrest warrant extended

News and human rights sources have reported that the arrest warrant for Reza Shahabi, a member of the Tehran Bus Company Workers' Union, has been extended for another month. On the other hand, the brother of Vahid Bagheri, a political prisoner whose physical condition is reported to be critical following a hunger strike, was arrested in front of the parliament.

According to the workers' union of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, the arrest warrant for Reza Shahabi, a member of the union's board of directors who was arrested on May 12, has been extended for another month.

Robabeh Rezaei, Reza Shahabi's wife, went to the Evin Prosecutor's Office on Sunday, June 12, to follow up on his condition, and authorities told her that "the investigation is not over" and that her arrest warrant has been extended for another month.

The Vahed Company Workers' Union has "expressed serious concern" about Mr. Shahabi's condition, stating that he is imprisoned in Ward 209 of Evin Prison with underlying illnesses, that his blood pressure "constantly fluctuates between 16 and 18" and that "the left half of his body and face regularly go numb." It has called for his unconditional release, as well as for Hassan Saeedi, another imprisoned member of the union.

Also in another report, Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist in Iran, announced the arrest of Rasoul Bagheri, the brother of Vahid Bagheri, a political prisoner.

According to Mr. Sadeghi, the family of this political prisoner had staged a sit-in in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Sunday morning, June 12, to protest the judicial authorities' indifference to "Vahid's critical situation on hunger strike," but security officers arrested his brother in a "violent confrontation."

Members of Vahid Bagheri's family held papers in this sit-in that read: "Hello Commander, I am a 90-year-old whose father was left in prison" and "Hello Commander, I am a homeless woman whose breadwinner was left in prison for three years."

Vahid Bagheri is one of the prisoners in Tehran's Grand Prison since November 2019 and has requested his conditional release, which according to the law is available after 20 months of imprisonment, but judicial authorities have not agreed to his request.

Mr. Bagheri is currently on his thirty-eighth day of hunger strike.

Source: Voice of America