Details of the extension of the sentence and the latest status of Mohammad Nourizad, a political activist imprisoned in Iran
The wife of Mohammad Nourizad, a political prisoner in Iran, called the Islamic Republic's courts unfair and announced the extension of the political prisoner's sentence, saying that as his physical conditions in prison worsened, he "was subjected to repeated anesthesia."
Fatemeh Maleki, the wife of Mohammad Nourizad, told VOA on Thursday, September 17, that the new 3-year prison sentence issued by the Golestan Provincial Court of Appeal on charges of insulting Khamenei and propagandizing against the regime was served on the political prisoner in Evin Prison yesterday.
Ms. Maleki says that this sentence was issued to Mr. Nourizad after he had previously been sentenced to one year in prison by Branch 1 of the Gorgan Revolutionary Court. Now, the appeals court has increased that sentence to three years, one year of which is suspended.
The wife of this political prisoner considered the issuance of such sentences a psychological game with Mr. Nourizad and said: "Every now and then they bring up new charges and sentences, as if they intend to harass Mr. Nourizad with them, and there is no logical reason for issuing these sentences."
Ms. Maleki says: "They form courts and issue verdicts, baseless and unfounded verdicts, unfair verdicts in informal courts, one-sided courts with pre-approved titles, accusations, and verdicts."
In late August of this year, Mohammad Nourizad's lawyer announced a new verdict against his client in another case. He wrote on his Twitter page that Mr. Nourizad had been sentenced to 74 lashes, 8 months in prison, and one year of exile to Tabas for being in front of the court building, and to 74 lashes for spreading lies.
Mr. Nourizad's wife also expressed concern about the political prisoner's physical condition, telling VOA: "Mr. Nourizad suffers from frequent fainting spells due to the hunger strike and medication he has been on in solitary confinement in Mashhad's Etelaat prison. Although he has been sent to a hospital outside the prison three times and is usually transferred to the Evin Prison infirmary every day, this problem continues. The political prisoner's physical condition has not improved, and it is unclear what caused his fainting spells."
Ms. Maleki says: "Mr. Nourizad's sinuses have been infected for at least 10 days now. He has a persistent cough and we hope he has not contracted the coronavirus."
According to him, the pills Mr. Nourizad is taking have made him lethargic, to the point where he cannot maintain his balance, and he has been walking with a cane for the past two weeks.
Ms. Maleki also says: "We have requested leave, but unfortunately, every day they act as if they do not want to implement this decision. Mr. Nourizad has not committed any crime to be held in these difficult conditions. If any problem arises for Mr. Nourizad and any accident occurs, they are responsible."
On the other hand, Mohammad Nourizad said in a call to his wife that he had been threatened by a security guard and that he had been told why he was making a statement from prison. While Ms. Maleki said: "Mr. Nourizad does not make a statement in his calls, he only reports on his daily situation and sometimes mentions issues that people have heard about for the first time and are not meant to be revealing."
Fatemeh Maleki says that security forces may have threatened Mr. Nourizad in this regard by cutting off his phone calls.
The mother of this political prisoner also says in an audio file, a copy of which was sent to the Voice of America, in a message addressed to the Leader of the Islamic Republic: "Why should my son be in prison? You want to hand over his body to me? I want his freedom, what conclusion do you want to draw? Prison is nothing, if you throw Mohammad Nourizad in a glass, he will tell the truth, prison has its place."
Mr. Nourizad was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison after signing a letter demanding Khamenei's resignation on July 10 after going to the First Branch of the 33rd District Prosecutor's Office of Evin. He was also sentenced to 15 years in prison in April of this year for signing this letter.
The arrest of the signatories of that letter comes at a time when Ali Khamenei has stated in his speeches that people are free to criticize him. However, not only is there no criticism of the Leader of the Islamic Republic in the media, but even the slightest criticism raised by activists carries the charge of insulting the Leader.
Earlier, the Islamic Republic's security officials had accused the signatories of these letters of trying to "plan a new sedition." Many of the signatories of these two letters have been arrested.
International human rights organizations and the United States government have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of expression and suppressing civil activists, and have called for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned simply for carrying out their duties and careers.
The US State Department also says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, labor representatives, and other trade unions in the last two years.
Source: Voice of America
