Iranian regime's pressure on imprisoned mother and daughter for opposing compulsory hijab; A report on the situation of Saba Kord Afshari and Raheleh Ahmadi in prison
According to an informed source, Saba Kord Afshari's health condition in prison is poor, and her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi, will not be sent on leave, even though she has a sentence of less than 5 years.
An informed source, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told VOA Persian that Saba Kord Afshari, a civil rights activist imprisoned in Iran, who has suffered from digestive and stomach problems since her previous arrests, has suffered stomach bleeding several times in prison. According to the source, the causes of these illnesses include long-term solitary confinement, psychological torture, and nervous stress inflicted on the civil rights activist in prison. In addition, Ms. Kord Afshari’s condition has worsened since she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison at least a year and a half ago.
The informed source said that after Saba Kord Afshari was transferred to the women's ward, a test conducted in the prison's infirmary revealed that she had internal bleeding in her stomach and intestines. At the same time, it was announced that since the prison's infirmary lacked complete equipment, Ms. Kord Afshari should be sent to a hospital outside the prison for treatment and treated there. However, according to this informed source, this issue had been opposed for a year and a half, and each time her family and lawyer were told that the transfer of a political prisoner to a hospital outside the prison must be done with the approval and order of the prosecutor's office.
The informed source added that after a year and a half of waiting, and after the prosecutor's approval, the civil activist was transferred to Taleghani Hospital for treatment. The attending physician there had announced that she had suffered internal bleeding and needed tests such as endoscopy and colonoscopy. However, although Ms. Kord Afshari has been transferred to the hospital at least three times to date, these tests have not been performed due to unjustified reasons such as being late in being transferred to the hospital or lack of money for treatment, and this civil activist is currently in poor physical condition.
The injustice of the broken verdict
This informed source told VOA about the situation of the imprisoned civil activist, that Judge Afshari, the head of the Revolutionary Court, initially sentenced Saba Kord Afshari to 24 years in prison, of which 15 years of this sentence were enforceable. In March of last year, this sentence was reduced to 9 years in the appeals court, of which only 7 years and six months were enforceable. However, in June of this year, a letter from the prosecutor's office was given to Saba in prison, based on which she was once again sentenced to 24 years in prison, of which 15 years were enforceable.
According to this informed person, upon hearing this news, the family and lawyer turned to the judiciary, court, prosecutor's office, and even the prison to re-follow up on the case and the new sentence that had been issued to the prisoner. According to this source, "The interesting thing here was that the notification that was sent to Saba and her lawyer last March stating that the sentence had been overturned was removed from the case and the authorities were concealing this notification."
The source told VOA that after authorities failed to provide any convincing answers to the family and lawyer, the lawyer in the case filed a request for a retrial with the Supreme Court at least three weeks ago and is currently awaiting a response from the Supreme Court.
Regarding the status of the case of Raheleh Ahmadi, a imprisoned civil activist and mother of Saba Kord Afshari, this informed person also told VOA that although Ms. Ahmadi's sentence is less than 5 years and she has been transferred to Evin Prison since late February of last year, her leave has not been approved to date, while according to the March circular of the Islamic Republic's Judiciary, political prisoners whose sentences are less than 5 years can be sent on leave.
Voice of America previously announced that Raheleh Ahmadi, the mother of the imprisoned civil activist, was also arrested on Saturday, February 16, after appearing at Branch 3 of the Tehran Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor's Office and transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence. She had previously been sentenced to 4 years and two months in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
According to this informed source, the families of these two political prisoners have repeatedly approached the prison prosecutor, who is responsible for granting prisoners leave, to request the release of these two civil activists; but all these efforts have been fruitless and the release of Ms. Ahmadi and Saba Kord Afshari has not been approved.
This informed person said regarding the pressure exerted on the families of political and civil prisoners, including Saba Kord Afshari and Raheleh Ahmadi: "The Islamic Republic wants to exert the most severe pressure on political prisoners and their families so that they remain silent and their voices are not heard. The actions of the Islamic Republic against prisoners and their families are like torture. When they leave a mother with her sick child in prison, this is torture. A mother who sees her child unable to eat due to a digestive disease, this is a torment for her. They only want to inflict mental and psychological torture on the prisoner and his family."
The United States has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters and civil activists, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
