“Emptying Evin for mass arrests”; Reason for prisoner transfers

In recent days, Nasrin Sotoudeh and four other prisoners were transferred from Evin to Qarchak. Shirin Ebadi and a lawyer in Tehran believe the main reason for these transfers is “to empty Evin in anticipation of possible future riots.”

After the transfer of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prisoner lawyer, from Evin Prison to Qarchak, Varamin, at least three other female prisoners were also transferred from Evin to other cities.

Attorney Babak Paknia wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night that three of his clients were told that Paknia had come and wanted to see them, and when they left their cells, they were transferred to another prison.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was also told that she was going to be taken to the hospital, but she was taken to Qarchak Prison.

Munireh Arabshahi and her daughter Yasman Ariani, two civil activists and protesters against compulsory hijab, were transferred from Evin to Kachhui Prison in Karaj, and Samaneh Nowruz Moradi was transferred to Rudsar Prison.

Babak Paknia continued his tweet last night, writing: "Samaneh Nowruz Moradi's physical condition is not good at all. We were conducting forensic medical procedures to determine the incapacity of imprisonment. My clients were not even given the opportunity to take their medicines and warm clothes with them! What kind of situation is this?"

Samaneh Norouzmoradi was arrested by security agencies in September 2018 on charges of being active on social media such as Telegram and participating in the “campaign to return Prince Reza Pahlavi” and was sentenced to 8 years in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of “supporting opposition groups on social media.” This sentence was reduced to 3 years and 9 months by the Court of Appeal.

This political prisoner was arrested on May 25, 2019, and transferred to Evin Prison to serve his sentence.

Samaneh Nowruz Moradi is seriously ill, and despite having the conditions of "intolerance of imprisonment," judicial and security authorities are not paying attention to her physical condition or addressing this issue.

Munireh Arabshahi and her daughter Yasman Ariani were also sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison in August 2019 on charges of “gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against national security, propagandizing against the system, and encouraging and providing the conditions for corruption and prostitution.”

This sentence was reduced to 9 years and 7 months in prison for each of them on appeal. Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the maximum sentence of five years and six months in prison is applicable to each of them.

Behind the scenes of the transfer of prisoners from Tehran

In addition to Nasrin Sotoudeh, Monireh Arabshahi, Yasman Ariani, and Samaneh Norouzmoradi, Elham Barmaki, a prisoner with dual nationality, was also transferred from Evin to Qarchak on October 4th without any specific reason.

Previously, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Iranian-Australian prisoner, had been transferred to Qarchak Prison.

This is despite the fact that Qarchak Prison in Varamin does not meet even the minimum required standards and there is not even safe drinking water there. This has increased concerns about the transfer of these prisoners.

Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, believes that the main reason for these transfers, as well as granting electronic leave to two other prisoners, Fariba Adelkhah and Nazanin Zaghari, is to "empty Evin for future mass arrests."

Ms. Ebadi tells DW: "Now the arrests are individual, and those who think they have the power to organize are arrested on the slightest pretext. An example is the confirmation of the verdict of Sediqeh Wasmaghi for signing the letter of 77 people, while they have not arrested the other signatories."

Sediqeh Wasmaghi, who had protested the November 2019 massacre by signing the so-called statement of 77 people, was sentenced to one year in prison by the Revolutionary Court, which was confirmed by Branch 36 of the Revolutionary Court of Appeals without holding a hearing.

He continues: "So now the arrests are not widespread, but the people, the intellectuals, and the government itself are anticipating street protests and are preparing. This is contingency preparation. Just like two days before the [2009 presidential] elections, they knew what was going to happen and that's why they issued a blank petition for signatures."

Citing a law that is no longer valid

Regarding the reason for transferring Nasrin Sotoudeh from Evin to Qarchak, the public relations officer of the Tehran Provincial Prisons Organization said that since Ms. Sotoudeh's crime, for which she should spend 12 years in prison, is a public crime, she should be transferred to a public prison.

The head of public relations for the Prisons Organization said: "Based on Article 7, Section B, of the Regulations on the Separation and Classification of Prisoners, approved on 2006-09-09, prisoners convicted of one of the public crimes that also affects Nasrin Sotoudeh are not eligible to be held in a security ward."

This is while, according to a lawyer in Tehran, the law passed in 2006 is no longer valid after the approval of the new Criminal Procedure Code, which was announced for implementation in July 2015.

According to the lawyer, who does not want to be named, at the same time, the Prisons Organization was given six months to prepare new regulations, but these regulations have not yet been prepared, and the Prisons Organization is citing a law that is actually no longer valid six months after July 2015, i.e., January 2015.

The lawyer also believes that the main reason for transferring prisoners from Evin is something else. According to him, since last year, the intention of the security and judicial institutions was to transfer all female prisoners to Qarchak, but the Prisons Organization opposed it, arguing that Qarchak does not have a political ward and all prisoners should be kept in one ward.

Apparently, this opposition from the Prisons Organization has not been able to stop the security agencies' determination to transfer prisoners from Evin this year.

According to this lawyer, the real reason for these transfers is “anticipation of future riots in Tehran” and therefore keeping Evin empty.

He says that Evin is intended to be used only for the arrest phase until the verdict is issued, and after the verdict is issued, the prisoners are transferred to other prisons.

Source: DW