Showing posts with label Evin prison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evin prison. Show all posts
Monday, October 23, 2023
American Prisoner Brought Home after Five Years Trapped in Iran Shares His Story | 60 Minutes
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Iranian Prison Guards Ordered to Beat Up Inmates, Letter Says
Political prisoners in Tehran's Evin prison have allegedly been subjected to humiliating physical abuse, including being forced to run a gauntlet of guards armed with batons, it has emerged.
Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has been silent despite chilling details being revealed by prisoners and their families about how Thursday's disturbances marked a dark episode in one of the country's most notorious prisons.
Dozens of inmates held in Evin's ward 350, including journalists, lawyers and opposition members, were injured, with some suffering skull fractures, broken ribs, wounds and swelling on their bodies after guards and intelligence officials created a tunnel and made prisoners run through it as they beat them with batons, according to opposition sources.
Emad Bahavar, who is serving a 10-year sentence because of his political activities, recounted some of the horrific moments in a letter sent out of jail and published on an opposition website, Kaleme, on Tuesday. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
ARAB NEWS: TEHRAN, Iran: An American woman detained for more than a year in Iran was released Tuesday on a bail of $500,000, according to state television, more than a year after she was jailed with two other Americans and accused of spying.The announcement came days after conflicting statements by Iranian authorities on whether Sarah Shourd would be released as the process was complicated by political feuds among the leadership and questions over how a payment could be made for her freedom without violating international sanctions.
The English-language Press TV reported only that Shourd, 32, had been released "on a bail of $500,000" but did not specify whether the money had been paid or give more details. Her family had said it was having difficulty raising the money.
Her lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said Shourd had been released but was still undergoing formalities inside the Evin Prison, where she has been held in solitary confinement. He said he had no information about her departure route or any details about bail.
A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Lars Knuchel said the release had not been formally confirmed but "we are very confident that things are moving into the right direction." The US broke off ties with Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Switzerland handles US interests in Iran. Read on and comment >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, August 14, 2009
BBC: Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidate has said that some protesters held after last month's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.
The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped. Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.
The BBC's Jon Leyne says the opposition uses the issue to maintain political pressure without directly questioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's poll victory.
On Thursday, Mr Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.
"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.
Mr Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".
On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.
The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.
"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
BBC: About 140 Iranians detained during protests against last month's disputed election result have been released from Evin prison, officials say.
About 200 others, accused of more serious crimes, remain in the prison.
The release comes after Iran's supreme leader ordered the closure of another detention centre because it failed to "preserve the rights of detainees".
The unusual moves show how much pressure Iran's leaders are under over detainees, correspondents say.
Officials also announced on Tuesday that 30 people were killed in clashes between opposition supporters and police - up from a previously stated figure of about 20. >>> | Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Two inmates die from meningitis in Evin prison / Former detainees speak of harassment and torture
Fears are mounting over the safety of hundreds of political inmates in Iran's most notorious prison following the deaths of two prisoners detained in the recent post-election unrest.
Mohsen Rouholamini and Amir Javadifar died in Tehran's Evin prison after being arrested at a demonstration this month.
Rouholamini, the son of a prominent Iranian scientist close to the country's political elite, died from meningitis after injuries believed to have been inflicted by his jailers went untreated.
The deaths prompted fears of a meningitis outbreak in Evin and other overcrowded detention centres where opposition figures, journalists and students are kept following last month's disputed election. News of the deaths coincided with reports of injuries to other detainees.
One inmate, Isa Saharkhiz, a prominent reformist journalist and commentator, is reported to have suffered broken ribs after being tortured under interrogation.
Campaigners are also concerned for the safety of Kian Tajbakhsh, an American-Iranian scholar said to be under pressure to confess involvement in an alleged western plot to orchestrate the protests following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election.
Prisoners recently released from Evin have described enduring countless beatings and being herded into tiny cells without air conditioning, where stifling temperatures regularly soar above 40C. >>> Robert Tait and Saeed Kamali Dehghan in Tehran | Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
PERSECUTED CHURCH WEBLOG: Two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30), continue to be held in Evin prison in Iran because of their Christian faith, unfairly labelled as ‘anti-government activists’, because of the hostility of the government towards practising Christians.
In the aftermath of the political turmoil in Iran, they are now in danger of being forgotten. One church leader from Iran said, “With so many hundreds of protestors now in the prison system, Maryam and Marzieh are likely to be forgotten.”
Arrested on March 5 , 2009, the two young women have now been in prison for four months. After being in solitary confinement for three weeks in May and early June, they were then put one small cell together for about two weeks. Then, following the arrests of thousands of protestors after the disputed presidential elections, Marzieh and Maryam were moved to a larger cell to make room for new prisoners. About 600 women were brought Evin prison during the days of the protests. There is still no clarity regarding their case. In one court session in June a judge told them that he would make sure they were both executed as ‘apostates’. Maryam and Marzieh have responded with courage, however, telling the judge to “expedite his sentence.” >>> Glenn Penner | Thursday, July 09, 2009
Hat tip: JihadWatch >>>
Thursday, June 18, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The Iranian regime has arrested an elderly and ailing reformist while he underwent medical tests in a Tehran hospital in its latest attempt to repress protests against electoral fraud.
Unable to find him when they called at his home, officials tracked down Ebrahim Yazdi, the 78-year-old leader of the banned but officially tolerated Freedom Movement, as he was undergoing stomach tests and took him away to Evin prison, his family and colleagues say.
Mr Yazdi was the foreign minister in Iran's first government after the 1979 revolution but has been sidelined since hardliners took control.
Mehdi Noorbaksh, Mr Yazdi’s son-in-law who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, confirmed that he was arrested at Pars Hospital at around 3pm and taken to Evin Prison, near the Iranian capital. Information was scant because phone lines had been cut off, he added.
Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights, said that Mr Yazdi was arrested in the intensive care unit. >>> Jenny Booth, Martin Fletcher and Ella Flaye in Tehran | Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
WASHINGTON TV: Christian Solidarity Worldwide [CSW] on Tuesday called on Iran to release two Christian women being held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, following the release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.
According to the London-based human rights group, Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were arrested by Iranian security forces on 5 March, after their apartment was searched and their Bibles and other personal items were confiscated.
CSW advocacy director, Tina Lambert said that the group “remains deeply concerned for the safety” of the two women, who had converted from Islam. >>> © WashingtonTV | Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
BBC: Roxana Saberi, the US-Iranian journalist released from jail in Iran on Monday, has thanked all those who helped to win her freedom.
She was freed after four months in prison when an eight-year term on charges of spying for the US was cut. She denied the charges.
Wearing a bright blue headscarf, Ms Saberi looked thin but in high spirits.
"I'm very happy to be free and to be with my parents again," Ms Saberi told reporters outside her flat in Tehran.
"I'm thanking all those people all over the world - which I'm just finding out about - who - whether they knew me or not - helped me and my family during this period," she said, smiling.
"I don't have any specific plans for the moment, I just want to be with my parents and friends, and to relax.
"Thank you very much - all of you," Roxana Saberi said, in her first public comments since her release. >>> | Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Watch BBC video: Roxana Saberi: 'I am of course happy to be free and with my parents again' >>>
Monday, May 11, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Roxana Saberi, an American journalist convicted in Iran on spying charges, is to be freed after an appeals court downgraded her sentence.
Lawyers for the 32-year old said the court had reduced the eight-year jail sentence to a suspended two-year term and she would soon be freed.
The Iranian-American television reporter had lived in Iran for six years before she was charged with "cooperating with a hostile state" after her arrest in January. The harsh sentence provoked an international backlash that prompted Iran's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to express concern that she had received due process. After his intervention the head of the Iranian judicary asked for the appeal court review.
"The verdict of the previous court has been quashed," lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said. "Her punishment has been changed to a suspended two-year sentence and she will be out of prison." >>> By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, May 11, 2009
THE NEW YORK TIMES: TEHRAN— An Iranian-American journalist who was sentenced to eight years of jail on spying charges for Washington will be released Monday after an appeal court reduced the sentence, her lawyer said.
Saleh Nikbakht, one of the two lawyers who defended Roxana Saberi in an appeal hearing on Sunday, said the court turned down the eight-year jail term and issued a two-year suspended prison term, the ISNA Student News Agency reported.
“The verdict was given to me in person today,” Mr. Nikbakht was quoted as saying. “The appeals court turned down the original sentence.”
“She will be released today,” Mr. Nikbakht was quoted as saying. >>> By Nazila Fathi | Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: The father of an Iranian-American journalist jailed by Iran on charges of spying for the United States said yesterday that she was in a bad condition a week after going on hunger strike.
Reza Saberi said he and his wife, Akiko, visited their daughter Roxana in Tehran's Evin jail on Sunday, taking flowers for her 32nd birthday.
"She is very, very weak and frail ... she is in a bad condition. She can hardly stand up," he said. "I'm worried about her health. I'm worried about her life."
The 68-year-old said he had asked his daughter to stop her action, but she did not want to discuss it during the 20-minute visit. She started refusing food last Tuesday, he said.
The US-born freelance reporter was sentenced to eight years in jail on April 18, in a verdict that could complicate Washington's efforts towards reconciliation with Iran after three decades of mutual mistrust.
Her defence lawyer, Abdolsamad Khorramshahi, who has appealed the sentence, said he expected the case to be sent to a higher court this week and suggested it may be examined soon.
He has expressed hope she would be acquitted after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the prosecutor to ensure Saberi enjoys full legal rights to defend herself. The judiciary chief has said the appeal must be dealt with in a "quick and fair way". >>> | Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Father of journalist sentenced for spying says she must be 'very weak' after five days without food
Roxana Saberi, the US-Iranian reporter jailed a week ago in Tehran on charges of spying that are untested in open court, has gone on hunger strike and is in a fragile state, according to her family and associates. Her father, Reza Saberi, said yesterday: "She went on a hunger strike on Tuesday to protest her imprisonment." He said she will continue "until she is freed", but added: "I am pretty certain that she must be very weak now."
The journalist, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, a city where yellow ribbons on trees now mark her incarceration, is 32 today, a birthday she will spend in Evin prison. She was arrested in January and initially accused – reports differ – of working without press credentials, or buying alcohol. But an Iranian judge later charged her with passing intelligence to the US. She was convicted after a one-day trial behind closed doors, and sentenced to eight years in prison. >>> By David Randall | Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
TIMESONLINE: AN American journalist has been jailed for eight years after an Iranian court convicted her of spying.
The trial of Roxana Saberi, 31, lasted just five days and took place behind closed doors.
Saberi, a freelance reporter for the BBC and America’s National Public Radio, was arrested in January initially for not carrying the correct press credentials. She was then accused of passing classified information to US intelligence services and taken to Tehran’s Evin jail.
The United States say the charges of espionage are baseless and have demanded her immediate release, while fellow journalists have set up an internet campaign to highlight her plight.
A former Miss North Dakota, Saberi, who has an Iranian father and Japanese mother, moved to Iran six years ago. The 31-year-old is a citizen of both the United States and Iran, but Tehran does not recognise dual nationality status. >>> Robin Henry | Saturday, April 18, 2009
Free Roxana Saberi >>> Asian American Journalists Association
leJDD.fr: Iran: Condamnée à tort?
Roxana Saberi, une Irano-américaine qui travaillait pour la BBC à Téhéran, a été condamnée à huit ans de prison ferme pour espionnage. Un verdict annoncé samedi que dénonce Hillary Clinton, qui se bat depuis un mois pour faire libérer la journaliste. L'affaire menace les efforts de l'Iran et des Etats-Unis qui tentent ces derniers mois de renouer leurs relations diplomatiques.
Les appels d'Hillary Clinton, la secrétaire d'Etat, n'auront rien changé: la journaliste irano-américaine Roxana Saberi a été condamnée à huit ans de prison à Téhéran pour espionnage au profit des Etats-Unis, a-t-on appris samedi auprès de son avocat, Me Abdolsamad Khorramshahi. Ce dernier a annoncé que sa cliente fera appel. Cette jeune femme de 31 ans, qui travaillait depuis six ans pour la BBC et la radio publique américaine NPR, avait été arrêtée en janvier dernier et aussitôt incarcérée sur le site d'Evin, la prison réservée aux détenus politiques.
Son procès s'est déroulé en une seule journée, lundi dernier, à huis clos devant le tribunal révolutionnaire de Téhéran. Une durée inhabituellement brève. Le verdict, qui devait tomber dans quelques semaines selon le porte-parole du ministère iranien de la Justice, a également été rendu bien plus vite que prévu. >>> Par G.V. (avec Reuters), LeJDD.fr Samedi 18 Avril 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
TIMESONLINE: The jailed Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was waiting to learn her fate today after her one-day trial on espionage charges at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.
She was tried on charges of “spying for foreigners... for America,“ Ali Reza Jamshidi, an Iranian government spokesman said, adding that a verdict was expected in two to three weeks. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Ms Saberi, 31, who was arrested in January after buying a bottle of wine and subsequently accused of working without press credentials, was charged last week with spying for the United States. An investigative judge involved in the case alleged that she had passed classified information to American intelligence services.
She “was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter”, Hassan Haddad, the chief deputy prosecutor said last week. “The evidence is mentioned in her case papers and she has accepted all the charges,” he added.
News of yesterday’s speedy trial came as a setback for American efforts to secure her release. They also dashed hope of rapprochement between the countries, raised by Tehran’s positive response to President Obama’s appeal for direct talks.
Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, expressed her “deep concern” for Ms Saberi’s safety and dismissed the charges against the reporter as baseless. She said it was unclear why the trial was moving at such fast pace, especially given the gravity of the charges.
Her parents visited her briefly today at the notorious Evin prison and said she appeared in reasonable health. “We met Roxana for a few minutes and she is doing well,” Reza Saberi, her father, said. “We are waiting for the judge to make a decision. It should come out in a week. There is always hope but we don’t know what will happen.” >>> Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: Held with no legal counsel for over a month, they suffer illness in notorious prison.
LOS ANGELES – Accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings,” two Iranian Christian women have been held in a Tehran prison for over a month in a crowded cell with no access to legal representation.
Amnesty International, in an appeal for urgent action last week, reported that authorities have made the accusations known but have imprisoned the women without filing official charges. The organization called on Iranian authorities to release them and expressed concern for their health.
Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, who were active in church activities and distributing Bibles according to Amnesty’s appeal, were arrested on March 5. They are being held in the detention center of Evin Prison, a facility that has drawn criticism for its human rights violations and executions in recent years. Amnesty’s appeal included a call to urge Iranian officials to ensure that the women are not being tortured.
Based on a telephone conversation between Esmaeilabad and a third party on March 28, Amnesty reported that Esmaeilabad said both are suffering from infection and high fever and had not received adequate medical care. The women continue to be detained in an overcrowded cell with 27 other women. Amnesty said they “may be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their religious beliefs.”
The women are allowed a one-minute call each day and a weekly visit from family. Authorities have informed their family members that the women are accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings,” according to the report, and that they would be released after payment of a $400,000 bail. The families have presented the title deeds of their homes as bail but are still waiting for approval from the judge.
Initially the Ministry of Intelligence summoned one of the women, and then took her to the apartment the two shared. There they were officially arrested, and authorities confiscated computers, books and Bibles. The two women were interrogated and held at different police stations.
On March 18 they appeared before Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran and subsequently transferred to Evin Prison, said the report.
Even if the women are released on bail, they still have to stand trial. Accusations have not included “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, though investigations are ongoing. It is not known whether the women are converts from Islam.
Last September the Iranian Parliament approved review of a new penal code calling for a mandatory death sentence for “apostates.” Under current law death sentences for apostasy have been issued only under judicial interpretations of sharia (Islamic law).
Under the new penal code, male “apostates” would be executed, while females would receive life sentences. The new code was sent to Iran’s most influential body, the Guardian Council, which is expected to rule on it. The council is made up of six conservative theologians appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the judiciary and approved by Parliament. This council has the power to veto any bill it deems inconsistent with the constitution and Islamic law.
Converts to Christianity in Iran risk harassment, arrest and attack from authorities even though Article 23 of the Iranian Constitution grants that individual beliefs are private and no one can be “molested or taken to task” for holding them. Iran has also signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
“This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching,” the covenant states.
The last Iranian Christian convert from Islam executed by the Iranian government was Hossein Soodmand in 1990. He was accused of working as “an American spy.” Since then at least six Protestant pastors have been assassinated by unknown killers. [Source: Compass Direct News] | Copyright © 2009 Compass Direct News | Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian-American journalist detained in Tehran has been charged with espionage, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Roxana Saberi has been informed of the charges against her, her lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi told the Associated Press, without providing any further details.
"Yes, Saberi has been charged with espionage," he said.
The charges against her come two days after her parents visited their daughter in prison. The couple from North Dakota met Ms. Saberi for half an hour at the prison where she is being held -- the first time they had spoken to her since she called them on Feb. 10 to say she had been arrested.
The 31-year-old U.S.-born journalist has reported for the BBC, NPR and other media. She was arrested in late January. Iranian officials said at the time that she was working in the Islamic Republic with expired press credentials. >>> Copyright © 2009 Associated Press | Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: CAIRO, Egypt: An Iranian-American academic who works at a Washington-based institute is being held in a notorious Iran prison after being prohibited from leaving the Mideast country for more than four months, the institute and her husband said Wednesday.
Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, was sent Tuesday to the Evin prison after she arrived at Iran's Intelligence Ministry for questioning, the center said in statement.
Iran has not confirmed that it is detaining Esfandiari, and officials in Tehran could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
"This is extremely disturbing news," said Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, in a telephone interview from their home in Maryland. "I never expected they would jail a 67-year-old woman for no reason whatsoever." Iranian-American academic held in notorious Iran prison (more)
Mark Alexander
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