Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, September 29, 2020—After enduring a year of pressure from the Iranian regime, Naser Moradi, the father of Amir Hossein Moradi, an Iranian political prisoner arrested during the November 2019 nationwide protests, committed suicide on Monday morning and unfortunately lost his life.
Moradi’s wife said to have found his body in their house’s basement on Monday morning. Security agents soon arrived at the scene. The attorney of Amir Hossein Moradi confirmed the report.
Amir Hossein Moradi, Naser’s son, is a physics student in Tehran’s Sharif Technical University. He was arrested for taking part in anti-regime protests that erupted across the country in November 2019 in protests to government corruption and the suppression of political and social freedom. In February, Abolghassem Salavati, an Iranian regime judge, issued death sentences for Moradi and two other political prisoners, Saeid Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, for protesting against the regime and trumped up security charges.
Salavati was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for "censorship or other activities that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran.”
The regime upheld the death sentence of the three political prisoners in June. A widespread international campaign forced the regime to temporarily suspend the verdict, although the death sentences have not been revoked. All three political prisoners have in all their court hearings protested being placed under vicious torture by regime authorities.
Amnesty International described the trial of the three men as grossly unfair. Amnesty international reported that the three prisoners were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including being kicked, beaten with batons and hung upside down while repeatedly beaten on their legs and feet.
“All were subjected to enforced disappearance for weeks after their arrests and denied access to a lawyer during the investigation phase of their case. Amirhossein Moradi’s ‘confession,’ which was broadcast in a propaganda video on state television days before their trial took place, was used as evidence to convict them,” Amnesty wrote.
The unfortunate suicide of Naser Moradi comes at a time that the regime is mounting pressure against political prisoners and their families. Earlier this month, the regime executed wrestling champion Navid Afkari, who was sentenced to death for taking part in anti-regime protests in 2018. Afkari too, was forced to confess under torture and was executed despite international calls to spare his life. The execution sparked international outrage and triggered calls for the referral of the Iranian regime’s human rights dossier to the UN Security Council.
A month earlier, the regime executed Mostafa Salehi, another political prisoner who was arrested during the December 2017 nationwide protests.
According to Moradi’s lawyer, in recent days, the regime had put intense pressure on the political prisoner’s family to take part in pro-regime interviews or else Moradi would be executed. Other reports pertain that Moradi, Tamjidi, and Rajabi were threatened by regime authorities to remain silent or risk being immediately executed.
Mohammad Bara’e, a judge in the Iranian regime’s judicial system, visited a section of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary after the execution of Afkari. In this inspection he warned Moradi, Rajabi and Tamjidi to remain silent about their conditions. If they leak information about their conditions and refuse to remain silent, their death sentences will be carried out, the so-called judge threatened.
