Reza Salmanzadeh

<p>Reza Salmanzadeh is a political activist and one of the justice seekers for the November 2019 massacre. His 14-year-old son, Mehdi, was killed in his home after returning from the 40th ceremony of the people killed in the nationwide protests in November 2019.</p>

<p>Millions of demonstrators protests in several cities of Iran, after the petrol price rise. Though, the early hours of the protests were aimed at the petrol price rise, soon after the protests turned against the government. From the earliest moments firing on protesters began in many places and security forces killed or injured hundreds. November's nationwide protests consider as the largest uprising against the government till now by many people, and the Islamic Republic's reaction admitted as the largest crackdown on non-partisan protesters</p> <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

• <coverage-outsourcing id='40120'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/39ANGEt'> At the beginning of 2017, he was arrested by the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. A few years later, Reza Salmanzadeh explained the reasons for his arrest in an interview with Canada's Payam Radio, that the reason for his arrest was his activity in cyberspace and criticism of the government's policies. In this audio file, he explained that the 28th branch of the Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Moghiseh, had sentenced him to seven years in prison on charges of assembly and collusion to act against national security, insulting the leader, and propaganda against the system; At this stage, with the application of Article 134 of the Criminal Code, five years of imprisonment would have been applicable for him. According to him, this verdict was reduced to one year in prison in the appeals court, but he was kept in prison for about eight months more than the sentence; According to the evidence that Atlas researchers have reviewed, his continued detention was probably due to a new case. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40121'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/39ANGEt'> Mehdi Salmanzadeh, his 14-year-old son, was murdered in their home. Reza Salmanzadeh said in an interview with Canada's Payam Radio that his son had published criticisms against the government's policies in cyberspace and was one of the petitioners for the victims of the nationwide protests in November 2019. He also explained how his son was killed and said that Mehdi's mother left the house for two hours and when she returned she found her son's naked body hanging from the wall closet. Mr. Salmanzadeh explained that there were bruises on Mehdi's body and his face was covered in blood. According to him, the doctors and detectives believed that Mehdi was killed before being hanged, but the intelligence police refused to investigate and despite presenting the CCTV footage of the killer, they declared Mehdi's death a suicide and quickly closed the case. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40124'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/Arash_sadeghii/status/1536079847323275266?s=20&t=cSBQzEv30XRU92lYPQQLaw'> He was arrested by intelligence agents at his home and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist, announced this news on Twitter and wrote that his wife suffered severe mental problems after the murder of her child and needs constant care. He emphasized that Mr. Salmanzadeh was denied access to a lawyer. Some time later, Iranwire also reported that Mr. Salmanzadeh went on a hunger strike from the moment of his arrest. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40128'> <reference source='https://www.kampain.info/archive/67228.htm'> Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners wrote that Reza Salmanzadeh has been denied access to a lawyer in Evin prison for more than a month since his arrest. According to this report, despite repeated follow-ups by Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, his defense lawyer, and numerous visits to the Evin prison prosecutor's office, they did not allow him to see his client. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='40129'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3b9Ickd'> IranWire wrote that he is still on hunger strike in Evin prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41186'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-36420/'> His trial was held in branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41185'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-36420/'> He was sentenced to a total of three years and eight months in prison and additional punishments by Branch 26 of Tehran Revolutionary Court headed by Iman Afshari. HRANA wrote that Mr. Salmanzadeh was sentenced to one year in prison for propagating against the system and to two years and eight months in prison for being a member of illegal groups. If the sentence is approved in the appeal stage, by applying Article 134 of the Criminal Code, two years and eight months of imprisonment will be applicable. Also, according to the campaign for the defense of political and civil prisoners, he was banned from leaving the country and banned from membership in political and social parties and groups for two years. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43332'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/222pjn6v'> Peyman Salmanzadeh, Reza Salmanzadeh's son, announced in a video message that his father's right hand was broken and his right leg was injured by a shotgun on the night of the Evin prison fire. In this video file, he says that his father was shot by the officers stationed in the prison during the fire in Evin prison, and he was transferred to solitary confinement in that condition without treatment and was kept in the solitary cells of Ward 241 of Evin prison for 94 days. During the countrywide protests in Iran in reaction to the murder of Mahsa Amini, parts of Evin Prison were set on fire on October 15th, 2022. A number of prisoners lost their lives, and some were wounded by the bullets shot by the prison guards. A number of prisoners suffered poisoning from breathing in the smoke and tear gas. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43333'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/ehsanghi2/status/1592434164245987329?s=20&t=9dh7wcGWRQfg8utVJLzQfg'> During a call to his family, Reza Salmanzadeh announced the decision of the prison authorities to transfer him to a hospital outside the prison. Peyman Salmanzadeh, Reza Salmanzadeh's son, announced in a video that after this call, there is no information about his father and the prison authorities have not informed them about this. Also, in this video, Reza Salmanzadeh announced a new case filed against his father. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='43513'> <reference source='https://twitter.com/Ahmadreza_haeri/status/1593560551053053954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1593560551053053954%7Ctwgr%5E8de3c48ba46de68180970aa68e5c67645ce3d16b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffeedly.com%2Fi%2Fmy'> Ahmadreza Haeri wrote on Twitter that Reza Salmanzadeh was seriously injured on the night of the Evin fire and was transferred to the solitary confinement of Ward 240. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='46287'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-38368/'> Amir Abbas Azramvand, Yashar Tohidi, Meisam Golshani, Mohammad Khani, Reza Salmanzadeh and Javad Seyedi filed a complaint against the prisons organization on charges such as defamation and intentional destruction of movable or immovable objects belonging to others, insulting officials and agents, threatening to kill and disseminating lies. HRANA wrote that this case was opened following the fire on the night of October 15 in Evin prison and the events that followed, and these political prisoners must appear in Tehran's Dispute Resolution Council on December 17. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='46295'> <reference source='https://www.instagram.com/p/Cntht4lu8nB/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY='> Attorney Erfan Karamveisi announced that the first branch of the Evin Prosecutor's Office issued a restraining order for Amir Abbas Azramvand, Yashar Tohidi, Parsa Golshani, Mohammad Khani, Reza Salmanzadeh and Javad Seyedi regarding the complaint of the prisons organization. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60680'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/222pjn6v'> According to IranWire, he was transferred along with a number of political prisoners from Evin prison to Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60681'> <reference source='https://t.me/kashowra/17574'> The Coordinating Council of Teachers' Union Organizations of Iran published a report on the latest situation of political prisoners exiled to Ghezal Hesar Prison and announced details about the unexpected transfer: > The transfer of these prisoners from Evin prison was done without prior notice and by deception and under various pretexts. This process of exile was done by resorting to handcuffs and shackles, as well as using violence, threats, and insults. This transfer was done while the names of these prisoners were not recorded in the books of Ghezal Hesar prison. According to the head of this prison, there is no way to accept these people." According to this report, all the exiles are kept in the Safe Ward of Ghezal Hesar prison, which is reserved for the punishment of prisoners, and due to the lack of minimum security in this ward, the exiled have to be on guard 24/7 to prevent the cell door from being closed and blocked. Based on the information published in the report of the Coordination Council, The Safe Ward lacks any cooking facilities and stores for shopping. As a sign of protest, the exiled prisoners refused to accept prison food from the first day of transfer, and due to the impossibility of cooking, during the past few days, the food of these prisoners has been limited to tea and biscuits. Also, this section lacks basic facilities such as drinking water and hot water for bathing. While announcing these matters, the Coordination Council added: > The exiled prisoners did not have any access to fresh air and were kept in a closed environment without ventilation for 24 hours. Apart from these cases, exiled prisoners are deprived of telephone as usual, and they are also denied the minimum facilities for treatment and health. The Coordination Council also wrote that the head of the Prisons Organization, Hayat al-Gheeb, was present at the prison of the exiled prisoners yesterday and emphasized that the transfer was done by his order. In the morning of Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, Loghman Aminpour, Saeed Masouri, Afshin Baimani, Sepehr Emam Jomeh, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Mohammad Shafei, Saman Seydi (Yasin), Hamzeh Savari, Ahmadreza Haeri, Reza Salmanzadeh, Masoudreza Ebrahiminejad, Jafar Ebrahimi and Kamyar Fakour, 13 Political prisoners imprisoned in Evin and Gohardasht prisons (Rajaei Shahr) were deported to Ghezel Hesar prison by resorting to violence and without providing any explanation. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='59497'> <reference source='https://ir.voanews.com/a/political-prisoners-ahmadi-ragheb-salmanzadeh-tabrizi/7287347.html'> Voice of America reported that Reza Salmanzadeh, who was transferred from Evin to Ghezel Hesar prison, has been on hunger strike for 14 days. According to this report, he also refuses phone calls and visits due to his protest against the "horrific conditions in which he is kept". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60679'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/222pjn6v'> He has been on hunger strike for 18 days to protest the condition of Ghezel Hesar prison and the conditions of himself and other exiled prisoners. Payam Salmanzadeh, the son of Reza Salmanzadeh, while announcing this news, has described his father's unsettling condition in a video file. He says that his father's previous case was declared closed based on the judicial amnesty circular in February 2023, but due to the new case against him during the Evin prison fire, he has been in temporary detention for nearly a year. According to Mr. Salmanzadeh's son, his father's new case is under investigation in the fourth branch of Tehran Criminal Prosecutor's Office, and during the past year, it has been prevented from being sent to the court. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60683'> <reference source='https://ir.voanews.com/a/iran-reza-salmanzadeh/7361539.html'> Reza Salmanzadeh announced in a message from Ghezel Hesar prison to the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran: > You ended with the (Bloody) November. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60685'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/bd9r7348'> On the fourth anniversary of his son's murder, he said in an audio file from the prison to the authorities of the Islamic Republic: > By imprisoning the fathers and mothers of the petitioners and filing repeated cases against them, you cannot silence the voice of our petitions. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60682'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/222pjn6v'> His case was declared closed. According to IranWire, citing Mr. Salmanzadeh's son, he is still in temporary custody due to the filing of a new case related to the Evin prison fire. Iran's judiciary issued a circular in February 2023 and announced that the process of releasing a number of those arrested in the 2022 nationwide uprising and other convicts has started. According to the report of Mizan news agency, the official organ of the judiciary, and the statements of the spokesman of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, this "amnesty" was on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1979 revolution and was conditional on the expression of "remorse" by the prisoners and would not include cases with accusations such as "connection with opposition and subversive groups" and "destruction of government property". However, many of the released prisoners stated in video and text that they did not ask for amnesty or express remorse. Even videos of female activists have been published, showing them standing in front of the prison without a hijab and chanting slogans against the government immediately after their release. Also, the release of prisoners under the title of "amnesty" faced a wide reaction and was considered by some activists on social networks and human rights organizations as a propaganda measure to repair the image of Ali Khamenei. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='55059'> <reference source='https://ir.voanews.com/a/attack-ir-forces-political-prisoners-protest-execution-qezelhesar/7460495.html'> The protest of the political prisoners of Ghazel-Hesar Prison regarding the threat of execution of four Kurdish political prisoners imprisoned in Evin Prison (Mohsen Mazloum, Vafa Azarbar, Pezhman Fatehi and Mohammad Faramarzi) was met with the attack of the intelligence officers inside the prison and "beating and breaking the prisoners' belongings". The Farsi section of the Voice of America quoted Payam Salmanzadeh, the son of Reza Salmanzadeh, one of the political prisoners in Unit 4 of Qezal-Hesar Prison, wrote: > Political prisoners of Unit 4 of Qezel-Hesar Prison went on strike and shouted slogans in Evin Prison due to the death sentence of four Kurdish political prisoners. and following this incident, "prison information security officers and the Ministry of Intelligence officers raided the prison." Payam Salmanzadeh also said, "Until the last contact we had with the inside of Unit 4, the officers were standing in the yard with guns, and we have no news from that point on, and they also disconnected the phones." Reza Mohammad Hosseini also confirmed in a call from the prison, the audio file of which was made available to Voice of America, that in addition to "obscenities and threats" the prison authorities "filmed the prisoners and Unit 4 and took some of the prisoners' personal belongings. According to Mohammad Hosseini, the security forces, including the head of the prison, the head of information protection, and people such as Qasem Sahrai, Milady, and Molavi were also present in this attack. According to HRANA, five political prisoners were injured after the attack by security agents. HRANA confirmed the identity of two of these five injured political prisoners. According to this report, Afshin Baymani, a political prisoner who was recently transferred from Isfahan's Asadabad Prison to Qezel Hesar, was sent to the hospital outside the prison due to a blow to the chest, with reduced consciousness. Saman Yasin, another political prisoner who was injured, has been deprived of proper medical treatment despite the wound in the chest area. At the same time, Mohammad Farahani, the editor-in-chief of Mizan, the official news agency of the Judiciary, in his personal account on X channel, while denying the beating of political prisoners and the attack on Unit 4, claimed: > Several mobile phones, SIM cards and memory cards have been discovered from the convicts. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='55060'> <reference source='https://www.radiozamaneh.info/801348'> Jafar Ebrahimi, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Sepehr Emam Jomeh, Loghman Aminpour, Ahmadreza Haeri, Meisam Dehbanzadeh, Reza Salmanzadeh, Hamzeh Savari, Saeed Masouri and Reza Mohammad Hosseini, political prisoners imprisoned in Ghezelhasar prison, in a statement published by Zamaneh Radio regarding the spread of executions in Iran, warned and announced that they will go on a hunger strike every Tuesday along with other prisoners. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='55323'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/32802399.html'> According to Radio Farda, the group "Prisoners on strike on Black Tuesdays of Ghezel Hesar Prison" consisting of 10 political prisoners who had previously announced that they will go on a hunger strike every Tuesday to protest the execution, published a letter in which they invited Neda Al-Nashif, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the prison and talk with them. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60164'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/56962jf2'> Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb and Reza Salmanzadeh in a statement on the eve of the elections of the two Islamic Councils and Leadership Assembly of Experts emphasized that they say no to the "appointments" and "no to the Islamic Republic". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60686'> <reference source='https://x.com/dadban4/status/1766783787138965681?s=20'> He was taken to the hospital. Dadban quoted Mr. Salmanzadeh's son and wrote that due to the beatings that were inflicted on Reza Salmanzadeh on the night of the Evin prison fire, the marks of the beating that day can still be seen on his body. According to this report, the accusations of Mr. Salmanzadeh have been stated as disobeying the order of the officers, disrupting the order of the prison, destruction and insult and threats, fighting, and corruption on earth. According to Mr. Salmanzadeh's son, after 18 months, no court has been held for him yet. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='60687'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2024/hranews/a-47405/'> HRANA wrote that Mr. Salmanzadeh suffers from bladder stones and problems in the testicle area. According to this report, he was sent to the medical center for a short time a few days ago, and despite not recovering, he was sent back to Qezal Hesar prison in Karaj. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='61254'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2024/hranews/a-49115/'> According to HRANA, the hearing of the charges against 40 people accused in the Evin prison fire case was held at branch 1148 of Tehran Criminal Court-2. It is stated in this report that the judge allowed only four of the accused to defend themselves against the accusations, and all the accused agreed that all the accusations were baseless and that their forced confessions were the result of pressure and intimidation of the interrogators in the solitary cells of Ward 241 of the Judiciary Security and Ward 240 of the Ministry of Intelligence and considered them invalid. A source close to the family of one of these prisoners told HRANA: > The families of those who died in the fire in Evin prison also rejected the claims of the prosecutor and the representative of the Prisons Organization that the prisoners and the accused played a role in the death of their children, and blamed the authorities of Evin prison and the security institutions as the murderers of their children and declared that they had no complaints against the accused and considered them victims of this incident. The father of one of the deceased told the judge that his son was killed by 3 bullets, and he called the cause of his son's death, which was declared by the authorities to be suffocation due to smoke inhalation, a complete lie, and he categorically denied the involvement of the accused in his son's death. Other families of the deceased also mentioned that security officials and Evin prison did not allow them to see the bodies of their children. These families announced that the defendants in this case are innocent and have no complaints against them. According to another family member of these prisoners, during this session, the judge of the court prevented the lawyers of the defendants from being admitted and expelled Ramin Safarnia, the defense lawyer of Meisam Dehbanzadeh, Loghman Aminpour, Majid Roshannejad and Reza Salmanzadeh from the court. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='61261'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2024/hranews/a-49146/'> According to HRANA, based on the verdict issued by Branch 1148 of Tehran Criminal Court-2 headed by Jabar Javadi Rami, Loghman Aminpour, Meisam Dehbanzadeh, and Majid Roshannejad were each sentenced to six years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of property destruction. They were sentenced to 16 months imprisonment and 74 lashes for disturbing the prison order and 16 months imprisonment for disobeying the orders of the officers. This report states that Reza Salmanzadeh was sentenced to five years in prison and 74 lashes for the charge of destruction of property, one year in prison for the charge of disrupting prison order, and one year in prison for the charge of disobeying the orders of the officers. By applying Article 134 of the Criminal Code, six years of imprisonment can be enforced for Loghman Aminpour, Meisam Dehbanzadeh, and Majid Roshannejad, and five years for Reza Salmanzadeh. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='62338'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/yc5txh6b'> According to Voice of America, Reza Mohammad Hosseini, Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Reza Salmanzadeh, and Mostafa Zamani, in opposition to the executions in Evin, sat in front of the entrance of the political prisoners ward in Unit 4 of Rajaee Shahr and Ghezel Hesar prisons and demanded a stop to issuing and execution of inhumane sentences. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='62635'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2024/hranews/a-49727/'> According to HRANA Payam Salmanzadeh, the son of Reza Salmanzadeh, released a video and announced that his father is suffering from heart disease, hernia, and kidney stones, and these problems have worsened since the fire incident in Evin prison and his beating. He further said that his father is still deprived of medical care. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='63093'> <reference source='https://ir.voanews.com/a/resummons-reza-salmanzadeh-human-rights-iran/7751307.html'> The Voice of America reported that he must appear in Branch 54 of the General Court of the Government Employees Judicial Complex in Tehran due to a complaint filed by the General Directorate of Prisons of Tehran Province. According to this report, a person named Abbas Shafiei has filed a case against Mr. Salmanzadeh in the Prisons Organization based on "personal enmity"; in this case, he has the title of "representative of the prisons organization". </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='63891'> <reference source='https://tinyurl.com/4xsyd4k2'> The Voice of America wrote in a report that Reza Salmanzadeh, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Reza Mohammad Hosseini, and Mostafa Ramezani, political prisoners imprisoned in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, called the death penalty a cause of violence in audio messages and called for all freedom seekers in the world to join the No Death Tuesday campaign. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='64186'> According to Atlas sources, he suffered physical deterioration after the hunger strike and went into a coma, so the ambulance is on the way to Ghezel Hesar prison to take him to the hospital. </coverage-outsourcing>