Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, January 26, 2021—Iranian authorities have extended the prison sentence of political prisonerSaeed Sangar for another 11 months for supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Having spent more than 20 years behind bars, Saeed Sangar is one of the longest standing political prisoners in Iran. It is worth noting that during his long period of incarceration, Sangar has not been granted a single day of leave outside the prison.
Sangar, 47, is from Piranshahr, West Azarbaijan province. He was arrested in September 2000 and sentence to 18 years in prison on charges of supporting the MEK and moharebeh (enmity against God), a bogus charge the regime uses to punish anyone who opposes the mullahs’ rule. He spent the first three years of his sentence in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where he was kept in solitary confinement and subjected to brutal torture.
After 18 years of imprisonment, Sangar was sentenced to another two years in prison by the regime’s judiciary, a decision that isn’t even justified under the regime’s own medieval rules. Now, after Sangar’s aggregate 20 years in prison has run its course, the regime has extended his sentence by another 11 months.
The real reason the regime is showing such enmity toward Sangar is his refusal to make forced confessions and television interviews against the MEK and its leadership. It is also worth noting the regime has so far taken Sangar for mock execution trials on 13 accounts. He is currently held in Urmia Central Prison under very harsh conditions.
The Iranian Resistance has called on the international community to intervene in Saeed Sangar’s case and to put pressure on the regime to end the harsh treatment of this steadfast political prisoner.
In a statement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), described the regime’s brutal behavior as “retaliation for his steadfastness and refusal to repent and take part in interviews to demonize the MEK, the Iranian Resistance, and its leadership.”
“The Iranian Resistance urges the United Nations and its affiliated bodies as well as other human rights organizations, the United States and the European Union and its member states, the European Parliament, and Bar Associations around the world to take immediate action to force the clerical regime to release Saeid Sangar, after enduring 20 years in prison,” the NCRI wrote.
