Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, September 8, 2020—Political prisoners Majid Assadi, Mohammad Amir Khizi, and Payam Shakiba have been transferred by authorities from ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison to Gohardasht prison of Karaj, a city located west of Tehran. This transfer took place on Monday, September 7, and the three political prisoners are placed in the quarantine section of Gohardasht prison. It is also worth noting that ward 209 of Evin prison is under the control and authority of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
The Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement on July 24 indicating political prisoner Majid Assadi is one of the inmates held in Gohardasht prison for signing a statement alongside many other political prisoners exposing the true nature of Iraj Mesdagj, a known agent working closely with the mullahs’ regime and specifically the MOIS. Assadi and the other two political prisoners was transferred from Gohardasht prison to the torture chambers of ward 209 in Evin prison in Tehran where he was placed under severe interrogation and all types of pressures.
Based on the regime’s own so-called laws Majid Assadi’s dossier is considered closed after four years and serving two years of his sentence behind bars, and he should have bene released. However, the MOIS has requested a retrial and launched a new case in the Evin prison prosecutor’s office.
Through such measures the mullahs’ regime seeks to avenge the declaration signed by more than a thousand political prisoners unveiling the true nature of its agent Iraj Mesdaghi.
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The NCRI Security and Counter-terrorism Committee issued a statement on June 28 reporting on MOIS pressures, threats and harassment against political prisoners and their families after the signing of the abovementioned statement against Iraj Mesdaghi.
The prisoners were told these new harassing measures taking place against them were based on “orders from above” for signing the prisoners’ statement, and they have to revoke their signatures. The regime’s pressures expanded through their lobbyist arm, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), in Turkey against former prisoners, threatening that they will be facing difficulties in their refugee dossiers if they do not revoke their signatures and refuse to write letters denying this entire case. It is worth noting that two November 2019 protesters who were sentenced to death by the regime’s judiciary were extradited from Turkey to Iran.
A retrial for an already condemned political prisoner such as Majid Assadi, who has spent two thirds of his sentence behind bars, should be condemned globally and in the United Nations. An international delegation should be sent to visit ward 209 of Evin Prison and meet with the inmates of this torture chamber.
Back in October 2019, Iranian regime authorities in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran, were hindering the medical care that political prisoner Majid Assadi needed by not permitting his transfer to a hospital.
This political prisoner has suffered from various illnesses, including his glands and digesting system, eyes and spinal cord. Prison authorities were demanding that he wear prison clothing when sent to a hospital. This is a method used by Iranian regime authorities to humiliate political prisoners when sent outside of their controlled facilities and into the public.
In November 2017, Assadi was sentenced by a regime court to six years behind bars on vague charges, such as “threatening national security through assembly and collusion,” and “propaganda against the state.”
In late September 2019, a court hearing scheduled for Assadi was canceled for the second time following his refusal to wear prison uniforms during his transfer for the court procedures. Assadi was also protesting illegal measures taken by prison authorities, according to reports obtained from inside Iran.
Iran: Political Prisoner Majid Assadi addresses his fellow compatriots
#FreeAllProtesters
#Iran pic.twitter.com/OrzSDdFur5— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 29, 2018
Prior to this, Assadi was summoned to a court affiliated to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on August 18, 2019. However, those hearings were also canceled due to his refusal to succumb to the authorities’ demand to wear prison uniforms. Assadi was also protesting the authorities’ insistence on him putting on handcuffs and chaining his feet.
Assadi suffers from Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a rheumatism disease that affects the spine, according to physicians. He also has ulcers and inflammation in his vision network. Assadi’s digestive problems have intensified as a result of prison authorities’ continued hindering of his medical process.
AS syndrome is considered a dangerous disease and Assadi needs to visit a hospital outside the prison every three months to control the illness. However, due to obstructions imposed by prison authorities and the regime’s judiciary, he has no access to physicians and specialized care.
Assadi, a graduate from Alameh Tabatabaei University, was arrested in 2017 in his home, also on charges of "propaganda and conspiracy against the establishment." He was sentenced to six years in prison and two years in exile. He also spent four years in prison between 2011 and 2015.
Back in 2012, Assadi went on hunger strike for one week protesting the measures of the regime’s so-called courts against two political prisoners in Ward 350 in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. The two prisoners were Ali Moezi and Vahid Asghari, who were transferred to solitary confinement and banned from any visits.
