After Eight Months in Solitary Confinement, the Lives of the Afkari Brothers Are in Danger

Eight months after the execution of Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old wrestler, concerns have intensified about the condition of his brothers, Vahid and Habib Afkari, who were arrested during the 2018 Shiraz protests. Vahid and Habib Afkari, who have been held in solitary confinement over the past eight months, have repeatedly been subjected to beatings and torture and have been threatened with death by judicial authorities. The severity of torture and the insistence of judicial authorities to extract confessions from these brothers against each other led Vahid Afkari to attempt suicide twice.

Throughout the detention of these two brothers, security and judicial authorities have applied various forms of psychological pressure and hardship on the Afkari family; ranging from imposing continuous restrictions on family visits to their children to keeping them uninformed about the health status of the detainees.

In recent days, after two high-ranking judicial officials threatened these prisoners with death in a meeting with the Afkari brothers, concerns have grown about a repetition of Navid Afkari’s fate for Vahid and Habib.

Hadi Qaeemi, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, warned about the condition of the Afkari brothers and said: “Given the increase in comprehensive pressure on these two brothers in prison and the insistence on their illegal detention in solitary confinement despite legal prohibition, it appears that the government is concerned about the exposure of the crime against Navid Afkari, which only these two brothers, as the two main witnesses to its occurrence in prison, know about. Therefore, coordinated and comprehensive efforts by all activists and human rights organizations to save the lives of the Afkari brothers are absolutely necessary.”

Qaeemi, emphasizing the position of access to justice in the Iranian constitution as an undisputed right of citizens, said: “The repeated violation of fair trial in the case of the Afkari brothers, absolute disregard for prohibitions on torture and solitary confinement, as well as threatening and prosecuting those seeking justice, demonstrates that the Iranian Islamic Republic government is not even committed to laws and regulations enacted by itself.”

The Human Rights Campaign in Iran holds the Iranian government directly responsible for the health and lives of the Afkari brothers and, while condemning the method and process of trial and the lack of transparency by judicial authorities in this case and the treatment of the Afkari brothers by judicial authorities and the pressure applied to their family, expresses its concern about the condition of the Afkari brothers and the application of further pressure on them.

Spending more than eight months in solitary confinement, unfavorable physical and psychological conditions and lack of proper treatment, the imposition of severe restrictions on family visits, and the continuation of psychological torture of the Afkari brothers with threats of execution by judicial authorities are among the most clear examples of severe coercive and illegal pressure against the Afkari brothers. On the other hand, the protracted nature of the trial proceedings and countless contradictions in the case, the authorities’ prevention of disclosure of case details, and the difficulty for case lawyers to access the details of the case have led security and judicial authorities to attempt to normalize the conditions of the case and, by applying pressure and threats, force the Afkari brothers to confess.

Earlier, two high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic who were directly tasked by the Head of the Judiciary met with the Afkari brothers; these officials asked Vahid to confess to murder in exchange for “being released from prison after one year and living conditions provided for him inside or outside Iran.”

These officials threatened Vahid that “if he does not accept this request, he will also be executed.”

Said Afkari, previously and after 230 days of his brothers’ detention in solitary confinement, wrote in a Twitter thread that the reason for the continuation of this detention and the continuous application of pressure by the Judiciary authorities is “fear of the truth being revealed.” He also wrote that “the Judiciary continues to harass those around them and those who have shown sympathy to his family, and has initiated legal cases.”

According to the Afkari family, over the past eight months, the conditions of the brothers held in solitary confinement have become increasingly difficult and concerning, and even visit conditions with Vahid and Habib have become much more difficult than before, to the extent that the scheduled visiting hours are essentially outside the usual visiting hours in the prison, so that it is not possible for the smallest visit of the Afkari family with other families of prisoners or Habib and Vahid with other detainees.

Some time ago, a short audio file from Vahid Afkari, recorded in prison, leaked out in which he condemns the conduct of judicial and security authorities in arrests, trials, and the execution of many innocent people under the pretext of maintaining security, and declares his innocence and demand for justice.

Vahid and Habib Afkari were sentenced to long prison terms under the charge of “moharebeh” (waging war against God) and participation in the August 2018 protests in Shiraz. Vahid Afkari, a 36-year-old citizen, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of aiding moharebeh, and Habib Afkari was sentenced to 27 years and three months imprisonment and 74 lashes.

Source: Human Rights Campaign in Iran