Endless Suffering of Political Prisoners’ Families; Father of Imprisoned Activist Commits Suicide, Father of Narges Mohammadi Protests Daughter’s Abuse in Prison

The father of Amir-Hossein Moradi, one of the detainees from the November 2019 protests who has been sentenced to death, committed suicide due to increasing pressure on the family of this political prisoner and lost his life.

According to news published on social media on Monday, September 28, the lifeless body of Amir-Hossein Moradi’s father, a political prisoner sentenced to death, was found in the basement of the Moradi family residence. It is reported that he took his own life due to mounting pressure on the family of this political prisoner to remain silent about the status of their son’s case.

Babak Paknia, one of the lawyers for the case of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi, three young men sentenced to death, confirmed the news on his Twitter page stating: “Unfortunately, Amir-Hossein Moradi’s father committed suicide.”

Amir-Hossein Moradi is one of three young protesters from November 2019 whose death sentences have been previously upheld by the Supreme Court, an affirmation that sparked severe reactions on social media, with people making the hashtag “Do Not Execute” a worldwide trend.

Even the President of the United States reacted on July 16 on Twitter to the issuance of death sentences for these three young protesters in Iran, stating: “Three people in Iran have been sentenced to death for participating in protests. Their execution is expected at any moment. Executing these three people sends a shameful message to the world and must not be carried out. #DoNotExecute”

Previously, Mr. Paknia had announced on his Twitter page regarding the latest status of the case of these three young men sentenced to death that on Monday, September 15, he submitted his final defense brief concerning their case to the office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The news of the confirmation of the death sentences for these three young protesters in Iran was published at a time when, to this day, none of the family members of Amir-Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi have spoken about the status of their case and have remained silent due to pressure from security forces.

On the other hand, Karim Mohammadi, the father of Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist imprisoned in Iran who is serving her sentence in Zanjan Central Prison, also on Monday, September 28, published a letter of complaint requesting that officials of the Islamic Republic cease harassing and tormenting Ms. Mohammadi.

Mr. Mohammadi, referring to the beating of this imprisoned human rights activist during her transfer from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison, says: “Upon seeing the bruises on her body in the visiting room, I leaned on my cane and called out to my God three times.”

Continuing in the letter of complaint from the father of this imprisoned human rights activist, it states: “My message to the government is this: Perhaps you can imprison my daughter’s body in a cage, but you cannot chain her spirit and weaken her ideals. Cease the harassment and tormenting of my daughter. Of course, I am patient with my daughter’s prison suffering, but I protest and pray for her well-being.”

Narges Mohammadi, Vice President and Spokesperson of the Center for Human Rights Defenders and imprisoned civil activist, who has been in prison since mid-2015, was recently transferred from Evin Prison to Zanjan Prison along with 7 other female prisoners following a sit-in in protest of the November massacre, accompanied by beatings, and is currently facing new charges in two separate cases.

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly 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 in that country.

Source: Voice of America