Reza Akvanian under severe pressure in Evin prison

Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Reza Akvanian, writer and human rights activist who was accused of organizing protests, was detained across the parliament building on August 13 by security agents. He is held in Evin prison and under severe mental and physical pressure.

According to CHRR, Reza Akvanian was among a group who were staging a peaceful sit-in in front of the parliament building in protest of the controversial and offensive remarks that had been made by parliament member Mr. Bozorgvari. About 15 people were detained and transferred to Evin prison in a black van out of which all have been released besides Reza Akvanian and his cousin Taher Akvanian.

Some of the released protestors have shared that they could hear the screams and cries of Reza Akvanian during his interrogations and witnesses in the prison saw him with a bloodied nose.

Reza Akvanian is a writer for the blog “salhaye khoobe zendegi” (life’s good years) who was first detained on February 1, 2010 by agents from the Ministry of Intelligence. Judge Tahmasabi presiding over Branch 1 of the Yasuj Revolutionary Court handed Akvanian a one-year prison sentence and a 5-year suspended term on the charges of “insulting the leader and the president in blog content” and “association with outsiders by sharing news reports.”

Security agents detained this human rights activist again on Sunday March 24, 2013 at approximately 3am at his residence. The agents violently raided his home and after conducting a massive search they confiscated Akvanian’s personal items such as his laptop computer, external drive, scanner, printer, mobile phone, and his writings. Akvanian was held incommunicado for the first 2 weeks while detained and his family had no knowledge of his condition or whereabouts. When his family was finally able to see him, they reported visible signs of bruising from interrogations on his body. He was released 17 days later on a 100 million Toman bail from the Central Prison of the city of Yasuj on Wednesday, April 10.