Iranian Protester Held in Solitary Confinement over Media Interview

The father of a jailed Iranian protester has expressed concerns over his condition in custody, saying his son has been held in solitary confinement for the past 10 days.

Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh is being denied his right to contact his family and receive visitors, his father Jafar Noor Mohammadzadeh said in an interview with the Emtdad news website published on April 11.

He said his son was sent to solitary confinement in Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, for “an interview he gave to a foreign media outlet without his knowledge.”

Mohammadzadeh was arrested during protests in Tehran in early October and was sentenced to death two months later for allegedly attempting to break the guardrail of a highway and setting fire to a dustbin. 

The judiciary canceled the death sentence in March and sentenced Mohammadzadeh to five years imprisonment for gathering and collusion, one year for disturbing public order and 10 years of exile in Kerman province.

The basis for issuing the death sentence was a video in which Mohammadzadeh cannot be seen breaking a guardrail or setting a fire.

In an audio file sent to IranWire in December, Mohammadzadeh rejected the accusations against him. He also said that, due to pressure exerted on him by his interrogator and the judge, he was forced to admit guilt and sign papers without even reading them.

The country has been swept by protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes since September 2022.

The authorities have responded to the women-led protest movement with a fierce crackdown in which more than 520 people were killed and over 20,000 were unlawfully detained, according to activists. After biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.