No news on the status of anti-regime Ayatollah Boroujerdi

Iran Press News: The students’ committee of human rights reporters announced that there is still no word on the status of the arrested anti-regime cleric, Ayatollah Kazemeini-Boroujerdi.

Kazemeini-Boroujerdi who had been arrested and imprisoned in 1995 and 2000 for his vehement opposition to the Islamic regime was re-arrested on October 8th after a 24 hour stand-off and clashes between his supporters and regime’s guards. His supporters were also, ultimately arrested and taken away to unknown locations; rumors that were later confirmed indicated that the detainees were all taken to the infamous ward 209 of Evin prison which is controlled and overseen by agents of the ministry of intelligence and security. Three days after the mass arrests, one of these supporters lost his life under the pressure of torture and interrogation.

Eyewitnesses indicated that upwards of 600 people were arrested and approximately 200 were killed during the clashes. Regime sources however, have unofficially admitted to only killing 20 of Kazemini-Boroujerdi’s supporters during the clashes with security guards.

Last week officials from the ministry of intelligence and security once again raided the cleric’s house, confiscating all of his documents and family’s medical records; so far no official or unofficial media outlets have provided information on Kazemeini-Boroujerdi’s health and his detention conditions.

Pursuant to his family’s on-going inquiries, the special prosecutor for the clergy and expert team related to the case Ayatollah Kazemeini-Boroujerdi announced that he had “suffered a heart attack” and that he has been hospitalized, however, they failed to mention the name of said hospital. Reportedly prisoners who suffer heart attacks while in detention in ward 209 are transferred to Khatam al-Nabia hospital in Tehran; it is possible that Ayatollah Kazemeini-Boroujerdi also has been transferred to said hospital. However, in recent days, following the inexplicably long holidays for Eid Fetr*, in the city Ghom, rumors of the murder of the cleric has spread; it is being said that Kazemeini-Borojourdi died under torture and interrogation. The ministry of intelligence and security however has typically, not as of yet confirmed these rumors.

* Eid Fitr, often abbreviated as simply Eid, sometimes spelled Eid al-Fitr, is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fitr means "to break the fast" and therefore symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. On the day of the celebration, a typical Muslim family is awake very early and then after praying the first normal everyday prayer, is required to eat in a small quantity, symbolizing the end of Ramadan. They then attend special congregational prayers held only for this occasion in mosques, in large open areas, stadiums or arenas. The prayer is generally short, and is followed by a Khuta or Islamic sermon.