Mother of Jailed Blogger Pleads with World: “For the love of God, please write about Hossein!”

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Mother of Jailed Blogger Pleads with World: “For the love of God, please write about Hossein!”
by Maryam Nayeb Yazdi
16-Oct-2010
 


 

Translation Banooye Sabz 

October 15, 2010 - In an interview with Rooz Online, Mohammad Ali DadkhahHossein Ronaghi-Maleki’s lawyer, confirmed a 15-year prison sentence for his client convicted of the following crimes:  ”Membership in an internet group Iran Proxy”, “propaganda against the regime”, “insulting the Supreme Leader”, and insulting the President”.

Zoleykha Mousavi, Ronaghi-Maleki’s mother, informed Rooz Online that his sentence was broken down as follows: 10 years prison sentence for membership in the online group Iran Proxy, 1 year for propaganda against the regime, 2 years for insulting the supreme leader, and 2 years for insulting the President.

Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki blogged under the alias Babak Khorramdin. He was arrested on December 13, 2009 in Malekan county. He is held in the IRGC ward 2A of Evin prison. Despite the fact that Ronaghi-Maleki’s trial took place in the lower court and a verdict was issued, according to his family, he is still being held in solitary confinement.  Three days ago, when his lawyer was informed of the verdict, he commented, “The reports by Ministry of Intelligence agents, statements by a number of individuals, and certain allegedly made confessions by Mr. Ronaghi-Maleki were used as evidence against him [in court].” According to the lawyer, even though all the charges were dismissed in court, interference by Ministry of Intelligence agents resulted in an indictment and a subsequent sentence.

Mr. Dadkhah stated, “They claim that Ronaghi-Maleki was a member of an internet group called Iran Proxy and that this group actively worked against the Islamic Republic. The evidence in his case file contained a few reports by the Ministry of Intelligence that claims my client was a member of Iran Proxy and supposedly confessed to this. In reality there are no credible legal or judicial documents to prove these claims.” He added, “I received notice of the verdict three days ago and I will definitely appeal the sentence.”

Dadkhah stated in regards to his client Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki, “One of the most important assets of any country is its human capital, since it is integral to the success, advancement, and the future development of a nation. Mr. Ronaghi-Maleki is an asset [to the country]. The judicial system should be progressive and aligned with the best interests of the country rather than act in a vengeful manner.  The interrogators claim that Mr. Ronaghi-Maleki is a member of Iran’s intellectual elite, and yet they have held him in solitary confinement for over 10 months, without granting him the conventional human rights afforded to all prisoners. The interrogators stated on page 500 of the case file that they are dealing with an outstanding individual. If that is true, then they should treat him entirely different. He should be living in prosperity and peace. He should have the ability to be creative so the country can take advantage of his skills. On numerous occasions I have brought this to the attention of the judge assigned to  his case, but he has unfortunately paid no attention to it.”

305 Days in Solitary Confinement

Zoleykha Mousavi, Ronaghi-Maleki’s mother, reiterated her firm belief to Rooz Online that her son’s sentence is illegal. She added that Hossein has been in solitary confinement for 305 days even though he has not accepted any of the charges against him.

Mrs. Mousavi stated, “…Hossein’s sentence is illegal and we don’t accept it. Hossein has rejected the charges. They never allowed him to read the verdict and he was beaten and pressured to sign it.” Ronaghi-Maleki’s mom has not been allowed to meet with her son since July. Just recently, she was allowed a brief telephone call. She explained, “They do not allow us or the lawyer to meet with Hossein. Yesterday when Hossein called he said that he wrote a letter to his lawyer. He handed the letter to prison officials, but did not receive word if his letter was actually forwarded to his lawyer. Before, Hossein repeatedly wrote letters to the Tehran Prosecutor, but [prison officials] have not allowed the letters to be delivered.”

Ronaghi-Maleki’s mother added, “When Hossein called, he said, ‘I was only involved in human rights activities and everyone knows this. I have been [held] here for several months, but I refuse to accept any of the charges. I will never accept the charges nor will I accept the sentence.”

Mrs. Mousavi described the pressures on her family and stated, “The [prison officials] told us that we have no right to give any interviews. They came to our house with the intention to arrest Hossein’s father because of interviews he gave in the past. On October 3rd, Mr. Satari, who is in charge of Judge Pir Abassi’s office, told me that everything we say is reported back to them and we have no right to talk. He threatened me and I responded that I am a mother, and if need be, I will speak about my son whenever it is necessary. I told him that I cannot keep my mouth shut. He responded that my son deserved to receive the death sentence.”

Rongahi-Maleki’s mother was very distressed by the improper treatment her family has endured at the hands of Mr. Satari. She stated, “Parviz Sohrabi, Satari’s nephew, and Haj Mehdi Satari, Satari’s brother, came to our residence in Malekan county on two separate occasions; once on August 28th and another time on October 1st,” she added, “Mr. Satari had sent them. They came and spoke with Hossein’s father. They requested something from Hossein’s father that he would not agree to. [Consequently], they rendered the verdict and sentence.” Mrs. Mousavi would not elaborate on what these individuals requested from her husband. She only emphasized that her family is under immense pressure but stated she cannot say more regarding the subject.

She said, “My husband and I have not even been allowed to meet with the judge in charge of our son’s case file. We complained to Mr. Satari regarding the matter. He responded that the judge’s comments do not concern [my husband and I]. He explained that they are the ones who make the decisions. Mr. Satari said a lot of shocking and unexpected things to me. I am a mother and my son is as dear to me as my own life.”

Mrs. Mousavi informed Rooz Online of the fact that her son is continuing her hunger strike and stated, “A few days ago someone we didn’t know contacted us and said that Hossein had launched a hunger strike from the day they forced him to sign his verdict. Hossein had called us twice prior to receiving this news, but did not mention anything about a hunger strike. This time when he called I asked him about it and he confirmed it.  He didn’t feel well.  His voice was very weak.  He didn’t have any energy.

I am so worried about my son. Who can I talk to about all this injustice toward my son?  It has been ten months, exactly 305 days that my child is in solitary confinement. They have placed the worst forms of pressure on him to force a false confession and a televised interview.  They told him that if [he] gives a televised interview, [they] will release [him] from prison. They even asked us to talk him into giving  a televised interview, but both his father and I advised Hossein not to do such a thing.  I told him that he is the apple of my eye and if anything happens to him I would die, but still, his honor is more important than anything. They blindfolded him several times and tried to force a false confession out of him, but he refused to cooperate.”

Ronaghi-Maleki remains in solitary confinement despite the fact that the court issued a $29,000 USD bail on August 16th. The bail amount was guaranteed by Rohaghi-Maleki’s family, but he was not released and the bail amount was removed.  Mrs. Mousavi stated, “They stated that the IRGC wrote a letter insisting on Hossein’s incarceration. They explained that the letter was from the IRGC in Azerbaijan. They asked me to post bail and I responded that I would  not do that until they guaranteed my son’s release. Mr. Satari responded that they have a weakness when it comes to Turks, and since we are Turks, they will not allow my son to be released!”

Ronaghi-Maleki’s mother concluded, “We are under extreme pressure. My son is innocent! For the love of God, please tell everyone. Please write about him so that your voices reach the Prosecutor, the Minster of Intelligence, and the Head of the Judiciary. Let everyone know what they have done to us and what they continue to do.”

 

 - Maryam Nayeb Yazdi and Roya Irani

Editors, //persian2english.com/?p=15519

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Thank You

by Maryam Nayeb Yazdi on

Thank you Fred for your kind words! The voices of the Iranian people inside Iran are the most important to spread....and it is ultimately their voices and actions that will bring freedom to Iran. We plan to stand in support with them until that day...Ta Rooze Azadi. 

 


Fred

Thank you persian2english

by Fred on

For non-Persian speakers who care to know firsthand about what Iranians inside Iran say about the Islamist Rapists ruling over them, the persian2english.com site is a Godsend.

Thank you both for the hard work, Iran and Iranians need more dedicated, untiring advocates like you. Thank you again.