Three political prisoners complain of mistreatment and violation of their rights in prison
Three political prisoners have sent a letter protesting numerous violations of the law in the handling of their cases and the violation of their civil rights. They say their refusal to sign a commitment not to sue the leader is the reason for their mistreatment.
Two detained lawyers and an Iranian civil activist have sent a letter to the Central Supervisory Board for the Good Implementation of Law and Rights and Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Civil Rights, protesting the "violation of the law" by the judiciary regarding the process of handling their case.
According to the HRANA human rights website, Mustafa Nili and Arash Kaykhosravi, two detained lawyers, along with Mehdi Mahmoudian, a journalist and civil activist, have written a letter organized around nine topics, highlighting numerous violations of the law related to civil rights in their cases.
These three prisoners cited the efforts and holding of hearings to take legal action against the perpetrators of the mismanagement of the Corona crisis and personally Ali Khamenei, the President, and the Minister of Health as reasons for their arrest, adding that they have been subjected to mental and emotional pressure for more than 33 days in the security cells of the judiciary's information protection department without being informed of the charges.
The three activists added that since they refused to sign a pledge not to complain to the Leader of the Islamic Republic and other officials on August 13, the day they were arrested, they are being mistreated and subjected to psychological pressure.
In this letter, they emphasized their right to seek legal action in accordance with Article 15 of the Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Protection of Citizens' Rights, and they have objected to a list of issues, including "deprivation of personal freedom and obstruction of the right to seek legal action and access to judicial authorities, treatment that is beyond dignity and contrary to morals and legal and Islamic standards by judicial officers, issuing an illegal arrest order, and disregarding the right to privacy and visiting their homes."
Attempts to prepare a complaint against those responsible for mismanaging the coronavirus
Mehdi Mahmoudian, Mostafa Nili, Arash Kaykhosravi, Mohammadreza Faghihi, Maryam Fara Afraz, and Leila Heydari, lawyers and civil activists, were arrested by security agents on August 13 at the office of the Association for the Protection of Citizens' Rights in Tehran.
Two weeks later, Zabihollah Khodayan, a spokesman for the judiciary, announced that the detainees were charged with “disturbing public order” and some crimes against national security.
These individuals intended to file a complaint against high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic regarding the mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic and economic corruption in allocating billions of rials to non-specialized companies to supply vaccines, and to hold them accountable for the avoidable deaths of Iranian citizens due to the coronavirus.
Among these individuals, Leila Heydari, Mohammad Reza Faghihi, and Maryam Fara Afraz were gradually released from prison, but the other three activists mentioned are still in the general ward of Evin Prison despite the issuance of indictments and the determination of the court branch.
The trial of the charges against Mahmoudian, Keykhosravi, and Nili will be held on Wednesday, October 12, at Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Social media users have repeatedly used the hashtag "Health Lawyers in Prison" and hashtags combining the names of these three individuals to express their disgust at what they called "judicial tyranny" in Iran and have called for the immediate release of these activists.
Source: DW
