Free The Prisoners

This page includes a list of political prisoners in Iran. Please give them a voice by following the links at the bottom of the page. Thank you, together we can make a difference!

Majid Tavakoli

Student leader Majid Tavakkoli, aged about 24 and who studies shipbuilding, was beaten and arrested on 7 December 2009 while leaving Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran. He had just spoken at a peaceful rally marking Student Day. The demonstration was part of anti-government protests that followed the disputed presidential election of June 2009.

The following day, pictures of Majid Tavakkoli wearing women’s clothing were published on a pro-government news agency, apparently to humiliate him. Hundreds of Iranian men protested by posting on the internet pictures of themselves wearing scarves. Majid Tavakkoli was subsequently sentenced to eight and a half years in jail for insulting officials, spreading propaganda against the state and gathering and colluding with intent to harm state security. He is a prisoner of conscience.

Dozens of students and others were arrested around the 7 December protests, which took place across the country. Many have been released, but an unknown number remain in detention, some sentenced to prison terms.

Kouhyar Goodarzi

Human rights activist Kouhyar Goodarzi who is on a hunger strike and in solitary confinement was transferred to the health clinic in Evin prison and is currently connected to IVs. The expelled Sharif University of Technology student was arrested on December 20, 2009.

Parvin Mokhtareh, Kouhyar Goodarzi’s mother, spoke to RAHANA and said, “When I arrived at Evin prison today to meet with my son, the guards did not allow me to see him, insisting that as long as he is solitary confinement he is not allowed visitation rights.”

Mrs. Mokhtareh stated that contact with Kouhyar has been cut off and added, “Kouhyar has been unable to contact us for approximately 15 days. As such we have no news of him and are completely in the dark with regards to his condition in prison.”

Mrs. Mokhtareh continued, “When I was leaving Evin today, an individual contacted me from the prison and said that Kouhyar was transferred to the health clinic as a result of his hunger strike.”

Mrs. Mokhtareh informed RAHANA of her presence at the Prosecutor’s office in Tehran and said, “Though I wrote a letter to the Prosecutor requesting to meet with my child, my efforts have not been successful to date.”

While criticizing the treatment by prison guards toward prisoners, Mrs. Mokhtareh stated, “What crime did our poor children commit that they are forced to resort to a hunger strike in prison? We did not work so hard raising our children so that they would end up hungry and thirsty in the dark prison walls of solitary confinement.”

Kouhyar Goodarzi, a member of The Committee of Human Rights Reporters, was transferred to solitary confinement in Evin prison’s ward 240 on May 20, 2010 for criticizing Bozorgnia, the head of ward 350.

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki

On May 24, 2010, blogger, university student, and human rights activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki (a.k.a Babak Khorramdin), was placed in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison, three days after he went on hunger strike to protest his ongoing arbitrary detention and lack of medical treatment.

According to a RAHANA reporter, Ronaghi’s relatives have said that he is in poor health and his severe kidney problems have remained untreated.

In a short phone call, which was arranged by intelligence agents, Ronaghi told his parents (who are not Tehran residents) that he is under pressure as a result of their presence in the capital as well as their efforts to seek information. The blogger said that he has been ordered to ask his parents to return to their city.

Ronaghi’s cough bursts disrupted the short phone call repeatedly, making it impossible for his parents to understand his words.

Intelligence agents and interrogators have in the past put Ronaghi under pressure on several occasions to force him to make a false televised confession. The rights activist, however, remains defiant and has refused to collaborate with the interrogators.

Ronaghi has been allowed two face-to face visits with his family during his six months of detention. Interrogation for Ronaghi continues and he is yet to be tried.

What you can do:

Step 1) Email the head of the Iranian judiciary and voice your support for these prisoners.His name is Sadeqh Larijani, and his email address is info@dadiran.ir.

Step 2) Email the Canadian Foreign Minister, and voice your concern over the situation in Iran. Let him know we want Ottawa to stand up against Iran’s brutal disregard for human rights. His name is Lawrence Cannon, and his email address is cannon.l@parl.gc.ca.