The new solar century began with the solidarity and continuity of the voices of Iranian advocates; report on the situation of three advocate families
Acts of oppression and injustice against the families of victims of government repression are one of the main forms of the government's confrontation with the concept of "seeking justice" and, in a sense, the clearest example of the "injustice" inflicted on those whose only desire is to achieve "truth" and "justice."
In recent years, we have witnessed various forms of oppression against the families of victims and victims of government repression; from unfair arrests and trials and imprisonment to security threats and beatings of victims' family members. The intensification of these behaviors by the government against defenseless families seeking justice has made the voice of these families' demands for justice heard today more than ever as a united voice against discrimination. Rereading the narrative of each of the government's interactions with the families of victims of repression highlights clear examples from the government's perspective on the issue of seeking justice, and on the other hand, it indicates that those seeking justice will not give up and that the concept of seeking justice has become widespread in Iranian society. In days when all Iranian families are trying to be together and escape the bitterness and hardship of life, many families seeking justice endure the sorrow of losing their loved ones or those in prison, hoping for a bright outcome for their claims. In the last years of the last solar century, after the widespread popular protests and the subsequent brutal repression by the government, more examples of acts of cruelty and injustice against the families of the victims were narrated, recorded, and recorded. A review of some of these examples shows how the government’s systematic treatment of the families of the victims, contrary to the government’s imagination, has led to a significant expansion of the narrative of seeking justice and truth among the families of the victims of inequality and discrimination. Today, many families whose loved ones were killed by the government’s bullets and execution ropes have become the embodiment of seeking justice. The following report is a look at the narrative of the government’s treatment of three families who lost their loved ones during the government’s repression and oppression: the Navid Afkari family, the Pouya Bakhtiari family, and the Farzad Ansarifar family.
The Afkari Family: From the Noose to Solitary Cell
In mid-March 2018, Habib Afkari was released after nearly three years in prison and more than 550 days in solitary confinement. Habib, along with his two brothers, Vahid and Navid Afkari, were arrested during the August 2018 protests in Shiraz. Navid Afkari was executed in September 2020 after a completely unfair, non-transparent, and ambiguous judicial process, and the other brother of the family, Vahid Afkari, is still in solitary confinement. Not long after Habib Afkari was released, he and his brother Saeed participated in a virtual Twitter conversation. What was very evident and clear in Habib's post-release conversation was his combative, demanding, truth-seeking narrative against discrimination and oppression, which seemed to have been deepened and intensified by the bitter experience of his brother's execution, imprisonment, torture, and countless pressures on the family. A narrative that has gained more credibility and status than ever before, not only among the Afkari family itself, but also in the eyes of public opinion. Looking at what has been imposed on the Afkari family, we realize that not only have the Afkari brothers (Vahid, Habib, and Navid) faced the harshest form of treatment from the government, but other members of this family were also not immune to the effects of security pressures.
On December 17, 2020, a few months after Navid Afkari’s execution, Navid Afkari’s father and brother were arrested while they were at the gravesite of their family member in the village of Sangar to prepare Navid’s tombstone. Security agents interrogated the grieving family members for hours and ordered them to refrain from placing a tombstone on Navid Afkari’s grave.
On June 12, 1401, when Saeed Afkari, along with a number of family members and relatives, protested against the solitary confinement of Habib and Vahid in front of Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, the officers attacked and severely beat the Afkari family members (Navid Afkari's father, mother, sister, and aunts).
On September 11, 1401, on the eve of the anniversary of Navid Afkari's execution, security agents arrested Navid's brother and sister, Saeed and Elham Afkari, after beating them while they were on their way to visit their imprisoned brothers.
On November 7, 1402, coinciding with Cyrus's Day, the parents of the Afkari brothers were arrested by security forces and released hours later. It was reported that during the arrest, the security forces took photos of Navid Afkari, a cake, and Navid Afkari's father's car.
Although these cases show some aspects of the government and security apparatus' treatment of the Afkari family, perhaps the most bitter forms of torture and oppression occurred against the imprisoned Afkari brothers, Vahid and Habib; from severe mental and physical torture to the illegal and unfair trial process of the case of these two imprisoned brothers.
The Afkari brothers' case was linked to the issue of torture and the severe psychological pressure exerted on them from the very beginning; Navid Afkari's account, which is reflected in his recordings in prison, as well as parts of his court hearing and the statements of the Afkari family, leaves no doubt that the mental and physical torture of these brothers has continued in various forms and methods. In the very first days of the Afkari brothers' arrest, Bahia Namjo, the mother of the Afkari brothers, said that "her sons have been tortured to testify against each other, and one of her sons (Vahid) has committed suicide twice in prison." The main pressure on Vahid was to write against his brother Navid. That is, the most severe form of mental torture for members of a family who are incarcerated in both prisons.
The Ansarifar Family: A Never-Ending Story of Justice
Farzad Ansarifar, a 28-year-old from the city of Behbahan, was shot dead by military officers on November 15, 2019. On a day when the streets of Behbahan, like many other cities in Iran, were witnessing protests against the sudden increase in gasoline prices, Farzad had left his house to “both get some water and bring his two younger brothers home.” He was worried about his brothers so that nothing would happen to them in that situation. According to some witnesses, Farzad Ansarifar was in an alley completely away from the scene of the clashes when the gunshots were fired. Farzad Ansarifar was shot from behind along with three other people. Farzad was targeted 100 meters from his father’s house. His body was first transferred to Ahvaz by security forces, and then returned to Behbahan two days later and handed over to his family. He was buried in Behbahan at noon on November 19, 2019.
The legal process of Farzad Ansarifar's family began very soon by his family, and the security and judicial apparatus also strongly opposed this legal process. Farzaneh Ansarifar, Farzad's sister, was the first member of this family to face legal action. Farzaneh Ansarifar was arrested on the night of Thursday, July 16, 2020, during a protest rally in Bank Melli Square in Behbahan and transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz. Farzaneh Ansarifar was finally released from prison on August 23, 2020, after submitting a warrant. The rally in which Farzaneh Ansarifar participated was held to protest the "disastrous economic situation of the country" and the "issuance of death sentences in response to the popular protests of 2019," during which, of course, a large number of protesting citizens were arrested during the rally and some in their homes after the protests ended. At the time of her arrest, Farzaneh Ansarifar was accused of charges such as “insulting the leadership,” “propaganda against the regime,” “public incitement,” and “interviewing foreign media.” Despite numerous security and judicial pressures, Farzaneh Ansarifar continued to pursue her brother’s legal rights.
On the other hand, the judiciary repeatedly issued summons to Farzaneh Ansarifar and summoned her to court under various pretexts. In one of these summonses, Ms. Ansarifar was summoned to the Revolutionary Court on charges such as “forklift theft” following a complaint filed by the former commander of the Behbahan Special Unit. On December 22, 1402, Farzaneh Ansarifar published a screenshot of the summons, in which she was asked to appear in the Behbahan Criminal Court a month later to face her charges.
Among the charges raised in this summons were "intentional assault and battery," "publishing provocative images," "membership in a MKO group," "insulting the leadership," "propaganda against the Islamic Republic system through slogan writing and participating in the 2019 protests," and "stealing a forklift and throwing stones at law enforcement and security officers."
The case was filed following a complaint filed by Rahman Badri, the former commander of the Behbahan Special Unit who is now retired and also the Behbahan prosecutor, against Farzaneh Ansarifar. On Monday, December 15, 2021, a court hearing to hear the charges against 25 people arrested during the July 2020 protests in Behbahan was held at Branch 1 of the Mahshahr Revolutionary Court. Farzaneh Ansarifar's name was among the defendants.
Later, on January 24, 1402, a court hearing was held against Farzaneh Ansarifar in Branch 103 of Criminal Court 2 of Behbahan County, presided over by Judge Rasoul Rasoulinejad. Finally, a court hearing to hear some of Farzaneh Ansarifar's other charges was held on February 3, 1402, in Branch 1 of the Bandar Mahshahr Revolutionary Court, during which she was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment.
In February 2019, a source familiar with the Ansarifar family's situation said that, at the same time as the second round of the November 2019 People's Court was being held in London, judicial authorities, while pressuring the Ansarifar family, had filed three separate cases against Farzaneh Ansarifar. Although the charges in these cases are different, there is no doubt that the main reason is Farzaneh Ansarifar's persistence in the lawsuit.
Farzaneh Ansarifar was not the only family member who chose the path of legal action and of course, enduring security and judicial pressures to achieve truth and justice. Amin Ansarifar, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, had recently appeared online as a witness during the first round of the November People's Court in London and testified about the killing of his son and the security pressures on his family.
In fact, this issue led to the intensification of security and judicial pressures on Farzad Ansarifar's father. In February 1402, at the same time as the intensification of judicial pressures on Farzaneh Ansarifar, the court sent summonses to Amin Ansarifar and Arman Ansarifar (Farzad's brother), according to which Farzad Ansarifar's father and brother had to appear in the Behbahan (Revolution) Court within five days. In this summons, "propaganda in favor of groups or organizations opposed to the Islamic Republic" was declared as the charge against Amin Ansarifar.
Amin Ansarifar was arrested on 20 Bahman 1402 after he went to the Behbahan Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office and was transferred to the city's prison. Arman Ansarifar was also arrested on charges of "propaganda activities against the regime" a day after his father was arrested and was transferred to the Behbahan Intelligence Department detention center. After this news was published, Arash Sadeghi, a former political prisoner, wrote in a tweet that Farzaneh Ansarifar, who had gone to the Behbahan prosecutor's office to follow up on the situation of her father and brother, "was beaten up in the prosecutor's office and threatened with arrest."
According to Arash Sadeghi, "Ms. Farzaneh Ansarifar was beaten in a way that caused bruising to her body and damage to her shoulder."
On Wednesday, March 15, 2021, Farzaneh Ansarifar announced the release of her father and brother after nearly a month of detention.
Previously, a source familiar with the situation of Farzad Ansarifar's family told VOA that "they went to everyone who had contact with them and took them [for interrogation and threats]." He said that "Farzad Ansarifar's two uncles had also been arrested and interrogated before."
Bakhtiari Family: Keeping the Litigation Alive at the Cost of Imprisonment
Pouya Bakhtiari, a 27-year-old from Karaj, was shot dead by security forces on November 15, 2019, in Phase 4 of Mehrshahr, Karaj, during popular protests. According to Pouya Bakhtiari's father, his son, along with his mother and sister, had joined the protesters on the second day of popular protests against the sudden increase in gasoline prices. A bullet from the security forces hit Pouya Bakhtiari in the skull and he died before reaching the hospital. A bitter tale of the brutal suppression of popular protests by the government's coercive forces. The banner of Pouya's family's legal action was raised very soon, and his parents began to seek legal action shortly after the tragedy of their son's death, and as a result, security and judicial pressures on them increased. Nahid Shirpisheh and Manouchehr Bakhtiari tried to make their voice heard through repeated conversations with the media and correspondence with international institutions and organizations. On December 4, 2019, less than a month after Pouya Bakhtiari's murder, Nahid Shirpisheh, Pouya's mother, said in an interview with the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that her family would file their complaint with the Iranian courts and judicial system, as well as international organizations, demanding that the murderer and killers of their child be identified and punished.
A month after the killing of Pouya Bakhtiari, his parents announced that they had been summoned by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence as the 40th anniversary of their son’s death approached and were told that if they objected to holding the ceremony at a location approved by the Ministry of Intelligence, they would not be allowed to hold Pouya’s 40th anniversary. Nevertheless, Pouya Bakhtiari’s parents issued a call for people to attend the ceremony on the 40th anniversary of their son’s death on January 25. Two days before this date, reports emerged of security forces raiding the Bakhtiari family home and arresting a large number of family members. A relative of the Bakhtiari family said that at least 10 members of Pouya Bakhtiari’s family were arrested during the raid. Pouya Bakhtiari’s parents, sister and brother-in-law, two uncles, and an 11-year-old cousin were arrested at Mr. Bakhtiari’s home, and then security forces went to the home of one of Pouya Bakhtiari’s uncles and arrested him as well.
At that time, Amnesty International also tweeted calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Nahid Shirpisheh and Manouchehr Bakhtiari, Pouya Bakhtiari's parents.
In June 2019, Manouchehr Bakhtiari wrote a three-page letter to several UN human rights officials, including UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, asking them to “help uncover the truth, make the voices of victims heard, and pressure the government to be accountable for violations.” In the letter, she detailed the brutal and bloody repression of the people and described what had happened to her son and his family in recent days.
It was not long after that some images and videos were published on social media showing Manouchehr Bakhtiari, Pouya’s father, and his brother attending a ceremony commemorating Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force. In early July 2020, Manouchehr Bakhtiari announced in a video on social media that he and his brother had been “forced” to attend a ceremony commemorating Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force. Mr. Bakhtiari had said that his participation in the ceremony was related to the time when he and his family were in a “mercenary prison.” Manouchehr Bakhtiari had emphasized that he had been forced to attend the ceremony by “threats and intimidation of his family.”
Security forces kidnapped and detained Manouchehr Bakhtiari on July 13, 2020, during his trip to Kish Island. After Manouchehr Bakhtiari was arrested, his family members and relatives, including his brother Mehrdad Bakhtiari, gathered in front of the Ministry of Interior on September 24, holding placards reading “Seeking justice is not a crime, release Manouchehr Bakhtiari.” However, in addition to beating them, security forces detained members of the family, including Bibi Zahra Bakhtiari, Pouya Bakhtiari’s 80-year-old grandmother, for several hours. After that, on the eve of the anniversary of the November protests, Mehrdad Bakhtiari, Pouya Bakhtiari’s uncle, was also arrested by security forces. Bibi Zahra Bakhtiari, Pouya Bakhtiari’s grandmother, said in a video on November 12, 2020: “While four months have passed since Manouchehr Bakhtiari [Pouya’s father] was arrested, my other son Mehrdad Bakhtiari was also kidnapped by the security forces of the Islamic Republic yesterday when he left home to buy bread.”
Manouchehr Bakhtiari was released on bail on December 5, 2020, after enduring about five months of detention, and Mehrdad Bakhtiari was also released on Thursday, December 17, after 47 days of detention. Manouchehr Bakhtiari had said that his brother (Mehrdad) had been sentenced to five years of suspended imprisonment and a two-year ban on leaving the country.
A few months later, on Farvardin 8, 1402, while attending and gathering at the tomb of Sardar Asad Bakhtiari, an Iranian constitutionalist in Isfahan, Manouchehr Bakhtiari was arrested along with the families of some of those killed in the popular protests and a number of civil society activists, and was released some time later.
Less than a month later, on May 22, 2011, security forces raided Manouchehr Bakhtiari’s home, beat him, arrested him, and transferred him to an unknown location for a while. The Revolutionary Court ultimately sentenced Manouchehr Bakhtiari to 3 years and 6 months in prison, 2 years and 6 months in exile, and a 2-year ban on leaving the country. He was transferred from the detention center of one of the security institutions to the Central Penitentiary of Karaj. Shortly after Mr. Bakhtiari’s arrest, an audio file was released in which he emphasized that he had not had a lawyer during the investigation of his case and that he had not been informed of the time of the hearings. In September 2011, Nahid Shirpisheh, Pouya Bakhtiari’s mother, reported that four security officers had raided her home. Nahid Shirpisheh had said that on Monday, September 22, four security officers stormed her home, insulted her, searched her house, and confiscated her personal cell phone and took it with them.
In January 2011, reports were published about Manouchehr Bakhtiari's hunger strike in prison and his transfer to solitary confinement. The hunger strike was carried out in protest of the injustice in the case process.
Sovereignty against litigation; imprisoning justice and erasing the truth
A review of the government's confrontation with the families of those seeking justice reveals a harsh but specific structure for dealing with and suppressing justice, which reveals various forms of violence. It can be clearly seen that all of the government's violent and repressive actions against the families of the victims revolve around several fundamental axes: the removal and erasure of the truth, repression and discrimination, the distortion of reality, and the creation of cases against family members, and finally the humiliation of the claimants through beatings, insults, and invasion of privacy.
Preventing funerals and commemorating the 40th or anniversary of the victims is the best example to explain the view aimed at eliminating and erasing the truth that has been applied to the families of the victims by the government in the past forty years in response to the movement for justice. The destruction of the Khavaran cemetery and the continuous and continuous restrictions on the mothers of Khavaran to hold mourning ceremonies are the oldest examples of this inhumane and anti-human rights policy. A policy that, on the other hand, is also aimed at distorting reality. This issue, of course, has been pursued and continues to be pursued with new techniques by the security apparatus, such as forcing the Bakhtiari family to attend the Qasem Soleimani ceremony. We can also see aspects of this technique in the Afkari family case. The efforts of the security forces and interrogators to force confessions from the Afkari brothers against each other or to make numerous television documentaries about the Afkari brothers case are another form of distortion of reality by the repressive force of the government. A method that is also linked to the creation of cases against the victims' family members. In recent years, we have repeatedly seen security and law enforcement officers behave in an extremely inhumane and violent manner with many families seeking justice. The beating of Gohar Eshghi, the elderly mother of Sattar Beheshti, who was killed as a result of torture by law enforcement officers, or the brutal raid by officers on the home of Shahnaz Ekmali, the mother of Mustafa Karimbeigi, one of the victims of the 2009 protests, are among the latest examples of abusive and violent treatment of families seeking justice who have consistently stood against this oppression.
Although security and judicial pressures on the families seeking justice are constantly increasing, it seems that the voice of these families seeking justice is being heard more strongly every day, and the circle of unity of this voice is becoming more solid, and the identity of these families seeking justice is being built and strengthened in connection with each other.
In the early days of the 15th century, clear examples of the continuity of the families of the plaintiffs were seen, which are signs of the increasing consistency of the path of litigation.
Nowruz 1401 began as a number of mothers of justice in Tehran and some other cities took to the streets and gave flowers to people to commemorate their lost loved ones with the people on the streets and alleys. The mother of Pejman Gholipour, one of the victims of November 2019, the mother of Navid Afkari, the mother of Saroo Ghahramani, whose son was killed in January 2017, the parents of Amirhossein Zarezadeh, another victim of November 2019, and the brother of Nasser Rezaei, who was also killed in the bloody November 2019 massacre. In the city of Sanandaj, the mother of Ramin Hossein Panahi, whose son was executed in 2018, also gave flowers to people among the participants in the Nowruz ceremony in memory of her son.
Source: Iran Human Rights Campaign
