Attack on Prominent Activist Abdollah Momeni

Political and civil rights activist Abdollah Momeni has survived an attempt on his life. Momeni was returning to his Tehran home on January 15 when two men attacked him with knives and other weapons.

The attack is the latest in a series of violations against human rights activists.

Momeni, who previously spent two years in Evin Prison for his activism, succeeded in fighting off the two men. He sustained chest injuries and received medical attention at a Tehran hospital.

The assailants arrived at Momeni’s house in Shadman Street in Tehran around 10 o’clock on Thursday night. They reportedly arrived on motorcycles and approached Momeni, asking him for directions. After Momeni fought them off, the perpetrators fled the scene. Momeni reported the assault to security forces shortly thereafter. The incident was not thought to be an attempted robbery, and it is suspected that Momeni was targeted for his work.

Abdollah Momeni is a well known figure in Iran’s student  movement, and is a spokesman for the NGO Office for Fostering Unity. He has been arrested and imprisoned several times, most recently following the 2009 presidential election, when he faced pressure to confess to his crimes. He was released from prison in March 2014 after serving a five-year sentence.

For many, the growing attacks on civil rights activists is a reminder of the chain murders of the 1990s, when a group of Intelligence Ministry agents targeted intellectuals, writers and civil rights activists. In one planned attack in 1995, the driver of a bus carrying 21 writers to a conference in Armenia attempted to drive Heyran Valley.

In November, celebrated journalist and filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad was involved in a car accident in suspicious circumstances in Tohid Square in Tehran. Although he was unconscious for a time, he received medical attention from emergency personnel, who arrived on the scene soon after the accident.

Nourizad, who used to write for conservative newspaper Keyhan, which is under the supervision of the office of the Supreme Leader, spoke out against the violence that followed the 2009 election. He wrote an open letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, asking him to apologize for the violations, and was arrested soon after.

Writing about November accident, Nourizad said he had been stuck in traffic at the time of the accident, and that a rubbish truck had deliberately hit his car. He posted photographs of his smashed-up car on social network sites.

Some activists have commented that the recent attack on Momeni and suspected attack on Nourizad could well signal a “new wave” of suppression against political dissidents and independent journalists.