Straying Between Prosecutor’s Office and Evin Prison

Rooz online, Speaking exclusively to RoozOnline, the families of 6 political prisoners Fariborz Raeesdana, Nazanin Khosravani, Fatemeh Arabsorkhi, Bahareh Hedayat, and Mahdieh Golroo said that they have been kept in the dark despite their efforts to contact various officials at the judiciary and Evin prison.

Meanwhile the family of yet another political prisoner, Emadedin Baghi, informed Rooz of the arrest of their younger son-in-law, Ali Maghami. Also, there has been no word on the fate of his wife, Monireh Baghi, since Maghami’s arrest. Members of the youth branch of the Participation Front (Jebhe Mosharekat), Ali Maghami and Adel Mohammad Hosseini were both arrested yesterday. Mr. Mohammad Hosseini was detained upon his arrival at the prosecutor’s Evin office after receiving a written court order summoning him. But Fatemeh Kamali, the wife of Emadedin Baghi, told Rooz that her son-in-law got arrested after meeting with Alireza Taheri.

Alireza Taheri, a member of the youth branch of Participation Front, was summoned to Evin prosecution office on December 19th and then detained. He was released after posting a 50 million Toman (about #50,000) bail. His mother-in-law adds, “We don’t know why he was detained or what are all these pressures for. My daughter got married recently and within two weeks of her wedding they arrested her husband’s father first and in less than two months they have taken her husband”. According to her, Mr. Maghami has never engaged in political or journalistic activity. Mrs.Kamali also told Rooz that Mr. Baghi was held at Evin prison, had no phone contact, and that they could only have visitations with him from across a window on Mondays.

Meanwhile, while Alireza Taheri was released from prison yesterday, so were cartoonist and the artistic manager of Etemad Melli daily Hadi Heydari and Mohammad Shafee, another member of the youth branch of Participation Front, Fatemeh Arabsorkhi who was arrested at the same time as the others still remains in jail.

Maryam Moghaddas, Arabsorkhi’s Mother, told Rooz, “Since all others are released except Fatemeh, our speculation is confirmed that she is being used to put pressure on her father”. She had previously stated, “This is directly related to my husband’s complaint against Commander Moshfegh. They want to keep Fatemeh in detention to make him give up his complaint. I told my husband’s interrogators that if you think a Moshfegh is worth arresting two members of a family at such a cost, then carry on!”

Azadeh Forghani, the wife of Fariborz Raeesdana, a prominent economist, told Rooz of their unsuccessful efforts to obtain any news on his status or whereabouts. Mr. Raeesdana was arrested at midnight December 19 at his home. In a telephone conversation after his arrest, Mr. Raeesdana told his wife to bring some clothes for him but he was not able to say where to. Mrs. Forghanis says that she went to the Revolutionary Guards and Evin prison while Mr. Zarafshan, their attorney, went to Tehran Prosecutor’s office, all to no avail.