Arab citizen from Khuzestan sentenced to over 5 years in prison
Rasoul Chaldavi, an Arab citizen from Ahvaz, has been sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison by the Revolutionary Court and the Criminal Court of Ahvaz in two separate cases.
According to reports published on social media, this Arab citizen from Ahvaz and prisoner detained in Shiban Prison was sentenced in one of his cases for the charge of “gathering and demonstration with the purpose of committing a crime against the internal security of the country through participation in separatist gatherings in Farvardin 1397” which was heard by the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz to 5 years in prison, and for the charge of “throwing stones at NAJA officers” by Branch 102 of the Criminal Court of Ahvaz to 6 months in prison.
In the issued verdict, it states that 2 years of Rasoul Chaldavi’s 5-year prison sentence will be carried out in Hamedan Prison in accordance with provision 3 of Article 513 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as a supplementary punishment. According to this provision and article, if the place of residence of the convicted person is outside the jurisdiction of the court issuing the ruling, the person shall be transferred to the prison at their place of residence to continue serving their sentence.
According to these reports, this Ahvazi citizen was transferred to Hamedan Prison on Monday, December 30th, to serve 2 years of his sentence, but the authorities of that prison refused to accept Mr. Chaldavi, and he was transferred back to Shiban Prison.
Based on available information, Rasoul Chaldavi was arrested at his home by security officers in early November 1397 during extensive arrests following an attack on a military parade of armed forces in Ahvaz, and during interrogation at the Intelligence Agency detention center, he was forced into forced confession as a result of “severe physical and psychological torture.”
During the military parade on September 22nd in the city of Ahvaz on the occasion of the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, a group carried out an armed attack on the parade. In this attack, at least 25 people were killed and 60 were wounded, with ordinary civilians also among the casualties. Following this incident, extensive arrests of civil activists and citizens began by security agencies, and approximately 700 people were arrested in Khuzestan Province after the attack.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly and in various cases condemned violent confrontations and widespread suppression of protesters, as well as repeated and continuous violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime of the country.
Source: Voice of America
