Peyman Aref Summoned to Evin Prison for Exercising Basic Rights

Persian2English – On Sunday, Peyman Aref, a prominent student activist and member of the Iran National Front, was once again summoned to Branch 2 of the Shahid Moghaddas Prosecutor’s office in Evin prison. According to Peyman, the summons order is regarding his latest case file related to his arrest on April 22, 2013 (he was released from Evin Prison on bail following three days of detention). The charge listed by the Ministry of Intelligence in the case file is: “Gathering and colluding with the intent to act against national security through 13 ways”.

According to Peyman Aref, the 13 ways listed by the Ministry of Intelligence are:

1. Visiting Nasrin Sotoudeh while she was released on furlough (January 2013).

2. Attending organizational meetings for the Iran National Front.

3. Attending an Iftar dinner hosted at Heshmatollah Tabarzadi’s home. (summer 2012)

4. Attending an Iftar dinner in Karaj for released political prisoners (summer 2012)

5. Attending an Iftar dinner hosted by the Iran and Tajikistan Friendship Association.

6. Travelling to Qom and meeting with religious clerics, including Yousef Sanei and Bayat Zanjani.

7. Giving interviews to foreign media.

8. Signing statement published by the Campaign for Peace and Freedom, which also included the signatures of Mohammad Nourizad, Mohammad Maleki, and Sadr Haj Saeed Javadi.

9. Signing a statement in support of Molavi Abdul al-Hamid Naghshbandi (an Ahl al-Sunnah scholar of Sistan and Baluchestan)

10. Receiving an invitation to the commemoration anniversary ceremony for Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar.

11. Proposing Abbas Amir Entezam as a candidate for the 2013 Iranian Presidential election.

12. Supporting the candidacy of Dr. Ghassem SHoleh Saadi for the 2013 Iranian Presidential election.

13. Supporting the No to Mandatory Hiab campaign with his partner Samira Jamshidi.

According to Iranian laws, Peyman Aref has three days to turn himself in to the Prosecutor’s office in Evin Prison.

Official summons order that Peyman Aref received today, September 22, 2013.

Peyman Aref could receive a sentence of up to FIVE YEARS in prison for the charge of “Gathering and colluding…” Peyman has been arrested four other times since the 2009 Iranian Presidential election: June 18, 2009; February 10, 2011; October 30, 2011; and March 14, 2012.

Students are under immense pressure in Iran. No student activist was among the recently released political prisoners in Iran. There are currently more than two dozen university students locked up in Iranian prisons. Some have been imprisoned for more than three years without a day of furlough. Others are imprisoned in exile, far away from their families. Some of them include: Shabnam Madadzadeh, Arash Sadehi, Maryam Shafipour, Zia Nabavi, Bahareh Hedayat, Majid Dorri, Majid Tavakoli, Emad Bahavar, Habib Latifi, Hassan Asadi Zeidabadi, Mehdi Khodaiee, Omid Kokabi, Saeed Jalalifar, Jamal Ghadernezhad…