96 Civil and Political Activists Demand the Release of Saeed Razavi Faqih

Ninety-six political and civil activists have requested that the judicial and security officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran facilitate the release of Saeed Razavi Faqih, a journalist and former student activist, "as soon as possible and without any conditions." These activists highlighted Mr. Razavi Faqih's "urgent need" for medical care and warned that the responsibility for "any unfortunate incident" that may occur to him lies with these officials. The statement, signed by figures such as Abdolali Bazargan, Mahnaz Parakand, Kazem Alamdar, Hassan Farashtian, Kazem Kordvani, and Hassan Yousefi Eshkouri, emphasized: "At the very least, it is expected that sick leave for appropriate and complete treatment of Saeed Razavi Faqih's heart disease will be granted as soon as possible." Previously, the Jaras website, close to reformists, reported that Saeed Razavi Faqih, a political prisoner, had been transferred to the hospital for heart surgery since the early days of Bahman. According to this website, Mr. Razavi Faqih spent all this time "in handcuffs and shackles" in the hospital and was "banned from visitors." The Kaleme website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, also reported that several security agents had "severely isolated" this political prisoner and prevented him from communicating with others. The ninety-six political and civil activists stated in their letter that despite doctors' opinions on the necessity of hospitalization in the cardiac surgery department, Saeed Razavi Faqih was returned to Rajai Shahr prison. The letter stated: "He was recovering after open-heart surgery when he faced midnight disturbances and wake-up calls from the guards of Imam Khomeini Hospital and was forced to leave the hospital to avoid disturbing other patients." The Ensaf News website reported on Bahman 5 that one of the treating physicians had written a "recommendation letter" stating that Mr. Razavi Faqih "should not be anxious under any circumstances" and that his return to prison under these conditions was inappropriate. Saeed Razavi Faqih was arrested on March 6, 2014, after widespread attacks by hardline media affiliated with the conservative faction of the Islamic Republic, including Fars and Tasnim news agencies, on his speech to reformists in Hamadan. According to news reports, Mr. Razavi Faqih had placed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, alongside other rulers of Iran before the 1979 revolution in his remarks. He stated: "We have seen seven rulers since the Constitutional Revolution until now. The seventh ruler is Ayatollah Khamenei. The other six rulers have passed away. Among these six rulers, the first ruler (Mozafar al-Din Shah) and the sixth ruler (Ayatollah Khomeini) ended their rule and preserved their respect and were buried in Iran. However, the other four rulers never ended their rule. They either went into exile or died in foreign lands." The former member of the Office for Strengthening Unity refers to Mohammad Ali Shah, Ahmad Shah, Reza Shah, and Mohammad Reza Shah, who died in exile abroad. After Mr. Razavi Faqih's arrest, the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office announced that his arrest was not due to his speech in Hamadan, but because of a previous case for which this former member of the Central Council of the Office for Strengthening Unity had been sentenced to one year in prison. Saeed Razavi Faqih is a former member of the Central Committee of the Union of Islamic Associations in Europe and a member of the Central Council of the Office for Strengthening Unity in the early 2000s. He has worked in newspapers such as Bonyan, Sobhe Emruz, Nowruz, and Yas-e-No and was also arrested and imprisoned for protesting the apostasy sentence issued for Hashem Aghajari.