Gulf European Centre for Human Rights
GECHR condemns issuance of additional three years sentence for some Ahwazi detainees
26th December 2019
Iranian Revolutionary Courts, branch 101, in the city of Al-Ahwaz, have issued an additional 3 years imprisonment to 16 Ahwazi detainees in Shaiban prison because of their protest against mistreatment and harsh conditions in the prison.
The name of detainees’:
Muslim Amri bin Jassem
Ghasem Husseinpour bin Mehdi
Amin Moawi bin Hanash
Adel Sharifi bin Nasser
Hassan Taher Mayahi bin Jassem
Younes Tayi bin Ahmad
Abdul-Razaq Abidawi
Mohammad Amin Mohammadi bin Ali
Milad Taher Mayahi
Bagher Abidawi bin Dayer
Ghasem Mohammadpour bin Hormoz
Mehdi Khanipour bin Karim
Ali Sawari bin Hassan
Ali Abidawi bin Taleb
Majed Jalizi bin Karim
Sayed Mohammad Dawarshanas bin Sayed Rashed
The former Ahwazi detainee, Ghazi al-Haideri, said that these 16 detainees criticized the harsh conditions in the prison and called for improving the conditions of prisoners. However, the Iranian authorities issued an additional verdict against them, although they have been detained for some time, and they were sentenced to prison for their cultural and political activities.
(Ref: Facebook Page of Ahwazi former political prisoner Ghazi Al-Haidari)
It is worth noting that the Iranian authorities have arrested more than 1000 Ahwazi Arab since September 2018 and a number of other activists were also arrested in March and April 2019. The Iranian authorities also arrested more than 1000 Ahwazi in November 2019, specifically in the city of Ma’shour and Al-Falahiya. Human rights activists have confirmed that more than 100 Ahwazi women have been arrested since September 2018.
The Ahwazi detainees suffer from the worst conditions in the prisons, such as lack of access to enough food and clean water for drinking, lack of access to clean places in the prisons, not having medical centres, and not being allowed to criticize anything. Some activists also confirmed that some Ahwazi political prisoners were tortured in prison because of their criticism of the authorities' lack of seriousness in facing the viral diseases prevalent in the prison.
Ahwazi human rights activists informed the Gulf Centre for Human Rights that two Ahwazi detainees died in prison in Shiban due to viral diseases. However, the GECHR cannot confirm the news, so it will investigate this case to obtain sufficient information.
The Gulf European Centre for Human Rights condemns the issuance of additional sentences against 16 Ahwazi prisoners and demands the halt of these charges. The GECHR also demands the cessation of all violations and the policy of neglect against prisoners and demands the release without restriction and condition of all detainees of freedom of expression in Al-Ahwaz. The GECHR also calls on international organisations to pressure the Iranian authorities to provide adequate health services to prisoners. The Centre affirms that the continuation of this policy is a violation of international human rights law.
