Iranian of the Day

kaleme.com: Ahmadreza Ahmadpour is a defrocked cleric, a member of the Participation Front, and a student of Ayatollah Montazeri, who is serving his prison term in exile inside Sepidar Prison facility in Ahvaz. Ahmadpour's family, who live in Qom have to travel a long distance to visit with him. Ahmadpour has been facing many limitations recently, including cancellation of his furlough leave.

According to sources, when Ahmadpour's family traveled to Ahvaz recently amidst numerous obstacles, including the long distance between Qom and Ahvaz, they were refused permission to visit with him. The family have no information about the political prisoner's health, as earlier, Ahmadpour's telephone contacts were also curtailed. Ahmadreza Ahmadpour is a disabled Iran-Iraq War veteran who was exposed to chemical warfare. His family are concerned about his health conditions.

Ahmadreza Ahmadpour is a cleric who wrote in his blog, Pezhvak-e Khamoosh. He is also a theological researcher. Intelligence agents in the city of Qom arrested him on July 19, 2010 after which he spent almost a year in prison. The Qom appeals court issued a verdict based on additional charges against this cleric. Ahmadpour is serving a sentence of four years behind bars in Ahvaz prison and a 10-years exile to the city of Izeh, which was upheld at appeals level.

Ahmadpour faced the new charges stemming from a letter he wrote to the United Nations. Because of this letter he was convicted of “propagating falsehoods with the intent to create public anxiety”, “propaganda against the regime” and “violating the dignity of the clergy.”