Judge Moghiseh increases bail for three members of the Writers' Association to three billion tomans
Judge Moghiseh says three members of the Iranian Writers' Association, Reza Khandan (Mahabadi), Keyvan Bajan, and Bektash Abtin, do not need lawyers. He increased the bail for each of them from 100 million to 1 billion tomans.
The Iranian Writers' Association issued a statement protesting the arrest of three of its members, writing that the presiding judge, Judge Moghiseh, violated the right of the members of the Writers' Association to have a lawyer by suggesting that the "defendants" can defend themselves.
After that, Judge Moghiseh changed the bail from one hundred million Tomans for each of them to one billion Tomans for each of them. Thus, the members of the association were arrested and transferred to Evin Prison due to the impossibility of securing the bail.
Reza Khandan (Mahabadi) and Keyvan Bajan, members of the editorial board, and Bektash Abtin, inspector of the Iranian Writers' Association, have been charged with serious crimes.
The statement stated that the first time, the members of the association were accused of "propaganda against the system," and the second time, when the case was sent from the "prosecutor's office" to the "court" and returned, two more serious charges were added to the above charges: "gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against national security" and "encouraging the country's women to corruption and prostitution," and the members of the association were temporarily released on bail of one hundred million tomans.
The statement of the Iranian Writers' Association adds: "According to the expert opinion of legal experts, firstly, the escalation of the sentence is usually part of the powers of the "prosecutor's office" and the judge of Branch 28 of the "court" should have sent the case to the "prosecutor's office" with a request to escalate the sentence, rather than directly escalate the sentence. Secondly, the court judge is not allowed to oppose the defendant's request to have a lawyer to defend himself. These two cases mean a clear violation of the defendant's inalienable rights and show that the judge has clearly violated the principle of impartiality, which in itself is sufficient to prove the important point that the aforementioned branch lacks jurisdiction to hear the case in question."
The Iranian Writers' Association added in its statement that while protesting the arrest of Bektash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan (Mahabadi), which is even contrary to the Islamic Republic's procedural rules and judicial standards, it demands the immediate and unconditional release of the arrested members of the association.
The statement said: “Defending freedom of expression without any restrictions or exceptions is the inalienable right of all citizens, including members of the Iranian Writers’ Association. Therefore, no one can be brought to court and tried for exercising this right, let alone having his inalienable rights trampled upon in “courts” like the “Balkh Divan.”
Source: DW
