NEWS))))))
Anis Saadat, a young writer and filmmaker, is in the custody of the Intelligence Department of Shiraz in Iran. She is at high risk of developing lupus, yet is being denied treatment.
Anis Saadat’s family has not been able to meet with her, and they are deeply concerned about her health, given her illness. Lupus can lead to pleurisy and kidney failure.
On January 12, Anis Saadat and her colleague were arrested by the Intelligence Department of Shiraz, during a memorial service in Shiraz for the victims of the downing of the Ukrainian plane. Anis who was born in 1989, holds a Master’s degree in Psychology. She is known as a talented writer and scriptwriter in the literary and art circles of Shiraz.
In another news, the Qazvin Court of Appeals ordered Maryam Zirak and Soheila Zalbeigi, both board members of the Teachers’ Association of Qazvin Province, to pay a fine of 12,100,000 tomans. They had previously been sentenced to six months in a Qazvin prison on charges of “propaganda against the state.” Meanwhile, Parisa Seifi, a student, is being held at the Sanandaj Correctional Center. Although she is in temporary custody, the Sanandaj court has repeatedly refused to release her on bail.
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Mary Mohammadi, a political prisoner and Christian convert, who was arrested on Jan. 12, during a rally in support of the families of victims of the Ukrainian airplane which was shot down by IRGC, was subjected to physical and sexual torture during interrogation. Mary was detained on January 12, and transferred to Tehran’s Vozara Detention Center. Prior to her interrogation, she was moved to the detention center’s courtyard, where she was forced to sit, in freezing weather, on the asphalt floor in front of the toilets. She was then questioned by three male interrogators. Mary Mohammadi was denied food during the first 24 hours of her detention. In addition to beating her, female prison officers conducted a physical examination. During the examination, the officers forced Mary to remove all her clothing, then ordered her to sit down and stand uprepeatedly. The officers had threatened to strip her forcibly if she did not remove her clothes herself. On Sunday, January 12, Mary Mohammadi had participated in a rally supporting the families of victims of the Ukrainian plane shot down by the Revolutionary Guards’ missiles. Since the rally, she has been held in Qarchak Prison. The prosecutor’s office at Evin Prison set Mary Mohammadi’s bail at 30 million tomans; however, the prosecutor denied the bail request. Earlier in January, Mary Mohammadi had been beaten by a Guidance Patrol in Tehran and sentenced to six months in prison on charge of spreading Christian propaganda. It is important to note that following the protests in last November and January, the Iranian regime launched a wave of arbitrary arrests of civil rights activists. At least 1,500 people, including 400 women and 17 teenagers, were killed during the November protests.
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Nejat Anvar Hamidi, 61, a political detainee, and one of many prisoners in the 1980's is languishes in an Ahvaz prison. She is at risk of losing her eyesight. Njat is a supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran PMOI/MEK. Held in Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, Nejat Anvar Hamidi, 61, suffers from severe eye disease. Regime authorities arrested her in March 2019 on charges of supporting the MEK (the People’s Mojahedin of Iran). In addition to suffering from severe eye disease, Nejat Anvar Hamidi continues to experience from chronic headaches – a result of being imprisoned in the 1980s. She was arrested in 1981 for supporting the MEK and held in the regime’s prisons for more than 2 years. Nejat Anvar Hamidi was eventually released on bail; however, the regime issued a warrant for her arrest and she was re-arrested. Her new sentence was for 5 years. In March 2019, she was transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz to serve the rest of her sentence. Nejat Anvar Hamidi’s husband and daughter were also arrested, interrogated, and threatened. Regime authorities informed the family members that they had no right to legal counsel. They were also told that if they sought counsel anyway, they would be arrested on charges of failing to cooperate with intelligence forces and representing a threat to national security.
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In August 2019, three female civil activists were sentenced by a Tehran Sharia court to 6 years’ imprisonment. The activists, Shahla Jahan Bin, Giti Pourfazel(lawyer), and Shahla Entesari, were convicted of “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security” and “distributing anti-regime propaganda.” In addition to her sentence, Giti Pourfazel, a lawyer and member of the Writers’ Association, was banned from participating in any political parties or groups. The three activists were transferred to Evin Prison in October 2019. In November 2019, the three activists were finally released – more than 4 months after their initial arrest – on bail of 500 million Tomans.
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Intelligence agencies in the Evin Prison have prevented granting medical furlough to political prisoner Samaneh Norouz Moradi despite her critical physical condition. At the same time, Zahra Jamali has been also denied medical care despite suffering from several illnesses and severe pain. Samaneh Norouz Moradi is imprisoned in the women’s ward of Evin Prison. She suffers from joint lupus. Her breasts are infected and she needs to be treated, urgently. Despite a 330-million-toman bail set to allow her have a medical leave, intelligence agencies in Evin Prison have opposed her request without giving any reasons. Ms. Moradi also suffers from stomach ulcer and other GI complications. Not having access to her medications have aggravated her health. Samaneh Norouz Moradi was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison by the Revision Court. She has been incarcerated since May 4, 2019 to serve her sentence. Zahra Jamali who is serving a three-year-and-six-month sentence in Evin, needs urgent medical treatment for her ovarian cyst, a tumor in her heel, and serious pain but she has been denied being dispatched to a medical center. The Sharia judge presiding Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran opposes sending Ms. Jamali for treatment because she made a speech against the regime in the funeral of Alireza Shir Mohammad-Ali, a young political prisoner who was stabbed to death by inmates in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary upon incitement by prison authorities.
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Women’s rights activist Monireh Arabshahi who is serving her sentence in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, sent out a letter on February 2, 2020, explaining the pressures imposed on her fellow inmates through depriving them from their much needed medical care. In parts of her letter, Ms. Arabshahi wrote, “It has been months that Samaneh (Norouz Moradi) has had breast infection… Despite passage of several months, there is no surgeon who could discharge the infection, and so far, the Evin Prison’s dispensary has not taken any action in this regard.” Ms. Arabshahi also pointed out in her letter, “Evin’s dispensary does not have the minimum medical and pharmaceutical facilities which could be found in any rural medical clinic.” She said it takes a long time for prison authorities to dispatch ill prisoners out to hospital centers “while it is the prison’s duty to provide medical services and care for the prisoners. Any delay in medical measures, has irreversible adverse impact on the patient’s recovery and health.”
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On Sunday, February 9, the heavy snow in Gilan province triggered an avalanche that killed several residents, including women and children. Mehdi Vali-Poor, Red Crescent Chief in Gilan province, who did not immediately report the casualties, indicated that one woman in Rudbar had been injured and another died. (The state-run ISNA news agency – February 13, 2020)Most of the roads were blocked due to the heavy snow, and much of the province suffered power and water outages. Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, Chairman of the Planning and Budget Organization, announced that 74,000 households in Gilan had suffered power outages. Speaking with reporters, he added, “2,000 urban households are without drinking water and 44,000 rural households have no water at all.” Reza Ardakanian, the Minister of Energy, announced that three of the 19 power distribution posts in Gilan province are out of order and could not be repaired “due to a lack of access to the roads.” Ismail Mirghazanfari, governor of Lahijan, announced that 125 villages had experienced power outages. He said, “Lahijan is facing a power crisis, not a snow crisis!” (The state-run ISNA news agency – February 9, 2020) In the Fouman district, 65 residential homes in just one village were destroyed. 28 villages do not have power. 25 roads in Some’sara are blocked. Bakeries were unable to open due to the power outage. The unprecedented snowfall in Gilan Province is covering 14,000 kilometers. Regime officials have failed to take any serious action despite passage of 5 days of heavy snow and deadly avalanche and abandoned the residents. Earlier the Crisis chief of Staff in Talesh while watching a soccer match said: Snow is not a crisis, it is a blessing.
