Political prisoner writes to UN about abuses in Iran

Iranian political prisoner, Hassan Sadeqi, who is currently behind bars in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of the Iranian capital, has written an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council protesting the authorities’ refusal to allow him to visit his wife imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

The following is the text of his letter:

To the UN Human Rights Council,

I, Hassan Sadeqi, a political prisoner of Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, write this letter to talk about my current condition. As I was schedulled to visit my wife imprisoned in Evin Prison, one of the prison guards, named Mohammadreza Shojai, arbitrarily prohibited my visitation with my wife. When I asked about the reason he said that there is a court order prohibiting you from visiting your family. I asked him to show me the court order which has been issued for me and he refused to show it, saying that he is not permitted to do so. I asked him how is it possible that a court order is issued for me while I am not permitted to know about its content.

However he was explicitly lying and there was no such court order, the judicial structure is so ignorant and abusive that a low-ranking official could have arbitrarily imposed punishment and harassment to the prisoners.

It is worth noting that my wife and I are sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment individually since we were charged with supporting the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran [PMOI or MEK]. The only hope for our children is their monthly visitation with us. In such circumstances, the political prisoners are not allowed to make phone calls. Although my children and I were accorded with the basic rights of human life for ourselves to have at least a phone call, by all means, they arrested my son because of making the effort to contact us and now we have all been prohibited from visitations.

Indeed, the pressures and the violation of rights stem from a corrupt hierarchy, repression and systematic tortures that go on in prison. Torturing and harassing prisoners have become the norm. As a political prisoner whose basic rights have been violated; I want you to tell us what to do in the current situation when no justice exists.

Hassan Sadeqi

Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison, Karaj

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A major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran. The “Free Iran” gathering will in particular highlight the plight of Iran’s political prisoners who are suffering continuously at the hands of the mullahs’ regime.

http://ncr-iran.org/en/9-uncategorised/20580-political-prisoner-writes-to-un-about-abuses-in-iran