Keyvan Samimi, Political Activist and Civil Rights Advocate, Temporarily Released from Prison
The lawyer of Keyvan Samimi announced on Tuesday evening, Bahman 12, that his client has been temporarily released from prison “based on a forensic medical report regarding his physical condition.”
Mostafa Nili wrote in a tweet: “Based on a forensic medical report regarding the physical condition of Mr. Keyvan Samimi, by order of the prosecutor and pursuant to Article 522 of the Criminal Procedure Code, his sentence has been suspended and he has been temporarily released from prison.”
This political and civil activist, who was recently transferred from Evin Prison to Semnan Prison, described his transfer in a letter from prison, writing that prison officials caused him “considerable psychological and cardiac stress” through deception and lies, and are likely pursuing a “project of exhaustion and even gradual killing” of him.
This 73-year-old civil activist, who had spent one day in Karaj Central Prison before his transfer to Semnan Prison, wrote that the prison contains “dirty and stressful detention facilities” that lack minimum sanitary amenities.
According to Mr. Samimi’s letter, published on Bahman 11, the prison holds up to three times its capacity, and poor toilet conditions, a 10-minute limit for bathing, and lack of facilities cause inmates to constantly fight with one another.
Keyvan Samimi, editor-in-chief of Iran Tomorrow publication and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, was transferred to Evin Prison in December of last year during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran to serve his two-year sentence.
According to a report by the Iranian Writers’ Association, in recent days, after Keyvan Samimi called the death of Behkash Abtahi, another member of the Writers’ Association, “quasi-intentional murder” in a letter, Evin Prison authorities decided to exile him.
Behkash Abtahi, a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association who was imprisoned on security charges, died on December 18 at Sasan Hospital in Tehran after contracting coronavirus twice in prison and experiencing delays in his treatment, an event that sparked protests against the Iranian government.
It was previously reported that prison officials forcibly removed Keyvan Samimi from Evin Prison with violence in order to exile him to one of the prisons in Alborz Province, but the Karaj enforcement judge refused to accept him in Alborz Province prisons, and Mr. Samimi spent one day in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj before being transferred to Semnan Prison.
In part of his writing, he compared prison conditions to the overall situation of the Islamic Republic, writing that “the country has become a fiefdom where every official plays their own tune and looks after their own interests, the order of affairs has fallen apart,” and “these weak spider threads will collapse with a few blows.”
The charge against Mr. Samimi that led to his prison sentence was described as “gathering and conspiracy with intent to act against national security,” which related to this civil activist’s participation in a protest gathering on International Workers’ Day in front of the Parliament building in Ordibehesht 1398.
Source: Radio Farda
