RAHANA – Mohammad Pour-Abdollah’s family has asked Ban Ki Moon and all human rights organizations to help save the detained student from the dangerous conditions of Ghezel Hesar prison, where he is serving a 6-year prison term.
Ghezel Hesar Prison is reserved for dangerous inmates convicted of drug trafficking and murder. Iran’s own laws require separation of prisoners based on the severity and nature of their crimes.
The following is the English text of Pour-Abdollah’s Family’s letter:
To the United Nations’ secretary general, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and all international human rights organizations.
With greetings,
We would like to bring to your attention that our son Mohammad Pour-Abdollah, a Tehran University chemical engineering student, was first arrested on January 14th, 2008 at his home for participating in the Student Day demonstrations held a few months prior. He was taken to Evin Prison, and on February 24th of the same year, after spending 41 days in prison, he was released on $80,000 bail.
For our family, however, Mohammad’s release on bail was the beginning of the coming days which would be filled with anxiety. He was constantly interrogated and threatened over the phone; over time the threatening phone calls became more and more ominous and began to target other members of our family. Mohammad’s mother was overcome by anxiety, and even now she is under treatment.
In the winter of 2009, the phone interrogations became more frequent and Mohammad was threatened over writing articles that reflected his own perceptions of the social issues.
Finally, on February 12th, 2009 at 7 pm, after searching his house, Intelligence agents posing as mailmen took him away along with his computer, books and other items.
As soon as we heard the news, we immediately came from Rasht (where we reside) to Tehran. The condition of his room indicated to us that he had been arrested. We spent the next few days in complete darkness about his situation. The nightmarish possibility that they would follow through with their phone threats haunted us every moment.
Finally, Mohammad called us to say that he was being held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison. He spent the next 30 days in solitary confinement and was subjected to long interrogation sessions that were combined with torture.
During that time, Mohammad’s mother was allowed to visit with him only once, and with the interrogator at his side.
Seeing Mohammad’s shaven head and eyebrows that day devastated his mother and made us more concerned than ever about his treatment in prison.
On March 18th, 2009, two days before the Persian New Year, with only a few days after the conclusion of his interrogation and his transfer to the public ward, and as we were doing every possible thing to secure his release before Norooz, the phone rang and Mohammad gave us the news of his transfer to Ghezel Hesar.
That day, the interrogator, without showing him his name on the release list, had asked Mohammad to put on his clothes and get ready to be released. As soon as Mohammad got ready, happily awaiting his release, he was attacked by prison guards, who blindfolded him and sent him to
Ghezel Hesar after savagely beating and injuring him.
Mohammad spent the next 48 hours in the quarantine section (admission section) of Ghezel Hesar, along with 150 other prisoners, as the solstice came and went.
On April 12th, 2009, after being held for two months on a temporary detention order, Mohammad was taken to the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s office, where he was asked to sign an indictment that contained baseless charges. His refusal to comply resulted only in an extension of his detention.
Mohammad was subsequently taken to a solitary cell in Evin and subjected to additional pressures in order to sign the indictment. After 10 days of resistance and refusal to sign, he was taken back to Ghezel Hesar where he was abandoned.
Despite efforts by his lawyers, the judge in charge of the case refused to release him on bail and even postponed the court hearing, which had been scheduled for June 1st, 2009. A new court date was not announced.
Eventually, after eight months of uncertainty in Ghezel Hesar, on October 12th, 2009, Mohammad was tried by judge Salavati at branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Two endless months later and two days after Student Day 2009, on December 9th, the Revolutionary court handed him a 6-year prison term – the maximum punishment allowed under articles 500 and 610 of the penal code – for taking part in the Student Day demonstrations in 2007.
We still do not know the reasons for the second time he was arrested (while he was out on bail).
Almost one year after he was arrested the second time, Mohammad is spending his days in Ghezel Hesar while waiting for the Appeals Court’s ruling that will decide how he will be spending the best years of his life.
We are worried. We worry for his health, his mental well-being, and above all, we worry for his life in a prison which is reserved for violent inmates.
We urge the secretary general of the United Nations, and all international human rights organizations to help us save our son from this dangerous situation and the six years of imprisonment that will ruin the best years of his life.
Yours truly,
Lotfollah Pour-Abdollah & Sima Salno, parents of Mohammad Pour-Abdollah.
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