A Young Protester at Risk of Re-arrest; Informed Source: Mehdi Tavakoli Suffers from Epilepsy

An informed source told Voice of America that Mehdi Tavakoli, one of the protesters arrested during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was temporarily released but still has an open case in the judiciary, is on the verge of returning to prison due to the need for the bail document to be released. According to information and documents received by Voice of America, 'Mehdi Tavakoli Asl', a 27-year-old citizen from Khorramabad residing in Karaj, was arrested by the 'Karaj Security Police' on September 15 last year, one day before the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. The informed source told Voice of America that this arrested protester spent '42 days' in solitary confinement at the Intelligence Department detention center of Alborz province and was then temporarily released from prison after posting a bail of 700 million tomans. According to this informed source, the bailor currently needs the document deposited with the judiciary, and if the bail is released, Mehdi Tavakoli will be transferred back to prison. Based on existing documents, despite the fact that the last trial session for Mehdi Tavakoli was held in January 2023 under the title of 'final defense' in the eighth branch of the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office in the city of Ferdows, Alborz province, his case has not yet been referred to court and remains unresolved with no ruling issued. According to documents that the Persian section of Voice of America has, the revolutionary prosecutor's office has charged Mehdi Tavakoli with 'gathering and colluding to commit a crime against internal and external security, creating a means for committing a crime, and membership in a group or organization formed within the country with the aim of disrupting national security.' It is unclear based on existing documents what basis the accusation of 'creating a means for committing a crime' is attributed to Mr. Tavakoli. A source close to this civil activist emphasized that Mehdi Tavakoli suffers from 'epilepsy' and that his family and relatives are concerned about his health condition upon returning to prison. Pressure on civil and political activists has increased in recent years, especially after the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, and many of them are facing open and unresolved legal cases, a trend that has placed their lives in uncertain and temporary conditions. Additionally, see: Marzieh Mahmoudi, a critical journalist of the government, is being tried for the third time. According to a report by Amnesty International in early May, Iranian officials have acted to 'severely suppress political freedoms' of activists, journalists, and critics using 'illegal coercive forces and unfair trials' in order to silence protests.