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Iranian Activist 'Mistaken for Drug Addict' Beaten Up by Court Staff

July 8, 2021
IranWire
3 min read
A detained citizen, Mohammad Abolhassani, who was arrested on charges related to political activism, was recently beaten by security agents after appealing to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals.
A detained citizen, Mohammad Abolhassani, who was arrested on charges related to political activism, was recently beaten by security agents after appealing to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals.
Three months ago, Abolhassani was summoned to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals after receiving an electronic summons.
Three months ago, Abolhassani was summoned to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals after receiving an electronic summons.

Iranian citizen Mohammad Abolhassani, who faces charges related to his peaceful political activism, was recently beaten by security agents after appealing to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeal. The agents mistook Abolhassani for being detained on drugs charges. Abolhassani had been previously detained on other charges and had been released on bail.

Abolhassani, a civil rights activist, was arrested on August 14, 2019, by order of Branch 28 of the Prosecutor's Office, and was convicted in December of that year by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by judge Abolghasem Salavati. He was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of "gathering and colluding” with other activists. The appeals court upheld the sentence.

Abolhassani was also sentenced to a two-year ban from leaving the country, a two-year ban from membership in political groups and a two-year ban from online activities, on the charges of "spreading lies”.

He was released on February 6, 2021 at the end of his sentence. But another case was filed against him during his imprisonment. He was released on a 100 million toman bail until his new case was investigated.

Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, then sentenced Abolhassani to 15 months in prison and four months of forced labor in the “Agricultural Jihad Organization” on charges of "propaganda activities against the regime”. And then about three months ago, Abolhassani was summoned to Branch 36 of the Court of Appeals after receiving an electronic summons.

Abolhassani later said that the clerk who distributed tickets to various defendants at the court mistook him for a drugs-related defendant and subsequently beat him.

”The cashier was talking on his phone for 20 minutes,” Abolhassani said. “I asked him to give me my ticket, when suddenly he began insulting me and said 'Shut up, you bloody addict.' I objected to him, but he got up and punched and kicked me several times in the face and shoulders.

“Our argument escalated and I threatened to sue him and report him because of this illegal behavior. The people present also protested against his actions. But I was taken to a room on the ground floor of the courthouse, where several people threw my personal clothes on the ground and beat me five or six times with a cable.

“I shouted and said my charges were political, and I was not an addict. Finally, they stopped beating me and brought a laptop to search for my name. Suddenly their behavior changed and they brought me tea and sweets and kept saying they didn’t know my crime was political."

Abolhassani continued: "I told them that even addicts have the right to defend themselves, and that they have no right to beat them. But again, they said they didn’t know that my crime was political. I said I would complain. Police officers came and wrote a report and I signed it. But my clothes were all torn.

“Then some people, along with the person who had beaten me, said they had talked to Judge Zargar and if I didn’t file a complaint and did not report them, they would change my sentence to a six-month suspended imprisonment. When I refused, they told me I would be handcuffed and sent straight to prison unless I consented. They shook hands with me until I had to agree. I asked them if my [suspended] sentence was six months in prison and they confirmed it."

But three months months after the incident, Abolhassani says, according to the notification sent to him, his sentence has been confirmed as the original 15 months in custody and four months of forced labor.

Abolhassani said his sentence has been referred to the Evin prison court to be carried out: "None of the promises were fulfilled and I have to go to prison, while I have a complaint and want to sue the person who beat me."

Abolhassani was a co-defendant in the case of Arsham Rezaei and Shakila Monfared. All three were sentenced to a total of eight years and six months in prison. In this case, Shakila Monfared was the first defendant and Arsham Rezaei and Mohammad Abolhassani were the second and third defendants.

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