Payam Darfashan's critical physical and mental condition in Evin Prison
Saeed Dehghan, the lawyer for Payam Darfashan, the prisoner's lawyer, expressed concern about his client's physical and mental condition in prison in an interview with the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, saying that he is not in a good physical and mental condition and should be treated in a specialized hospital.
Mr. Dehghan simultaneously announced that his client's sentence had been reduced based on the new law on reducing prison sentences and said that he hoped that the Supreme Court would agree to his request for a retrial.
Payam Darfashan is a lawyer for a number of political and civil prisoners in Iran. He was arrested on August 28, 2018, at the home of Arash Kaykhosravi, another lawyer who was being held at the time, and released on bail on September 5 of the same year. Mr. Darfashan was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of disqualification from practicing law by Branch 1 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court on charges of insulting the Leader. According to Saeed Dehghan, the appeals court overturned this sentence. However, on June 9, 2020, the lawyer was arrested again and sentenced to two years and 6 months in prison by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. He is currently in Evin Prison.
Saeed Dehghan, Payam Derfashan's lawyer, explained in an interview with the Campaign about his client's verdict: "After consulting with my colleague, Mr. Abuzar Nasrollahi, who is also representing Mr. Derfashan, we came to the conclusion that, given the many legal problems in the case, the most important action at the moment is to retry the case for final consideration in the Supreme Court. In particular, his current prison sentence was for publishing lies with the intention of disturbing public opinion due to the discussion of my joint case and the message related to Fatemeh Khoshvand (Sahar Tabar), which we have official certification that Ms. Khoshvand has contracted the coronavirus, so Mr. Derfashan did not publish false information that deserves punishment. For this reason, we hope for the outcome of the retrial in the Supreme Court. Simultaneously with the retrial in the Supreme Court, citing parts of the Islamic Penal Code and the new law on reducing the penalty of imprisonment, both the punishment for one of his charges (propaganda against the system) was canceled, and consequently, the final and binding punishment, in accordance with the verdict. "The review period has been reduced to two years."
Mr. Dehghan explained about the new law on reducing the penalty of imprisonment: “This law, which we are citing and using for many clients these days, was proposed in the parliament by lawyers such as Mahmoud Sadeghi as a plan that was in line with the macro policies in the 5-year plans related to reducing imprisonment. Although this measure was accompanied by weaknesses in its formulation and implementation, it was necessary overall. Of course, it was done very late, because the penalty section of the Islamic Penal Code dates back to 75 (i.e. 24 years ago) and has many weaknesses. Of course, at that time, the focus was also on imprisonment. The new law on reducing the penalty of imprisonment in cases where it can be reduced must be reduced and is mandatory. However, in political and ideological cases (or as the security men say), they have placed restrictions in this law, including the judge’s determination, which actually creates problems and obstacles.”
Payam Darfashan, in an interview with the media, including the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, had announced that his client Sahar Tabar had contracted the coronavirus in Qarchak Prison in Varamin and warned about her condition. This issue led to her being sentenced to prison on charges of propaganda against the regime and spreading lies. However, after her lawyers pursued the case, she was acquitted of the charge of propaganda against the regime.
Expressing concern about his client's condition in Evin Prison, Saeed Dehghan told the Campaign that Mr. Derfashan is not in a good physical and mental condition and needs to be treated in a specialized hospital. For this reason, we are also pursuing his release for treatment purposes.
Source: Human Rights Campaign
