Continued Pressure on Families Seeking Justice; Farzad Moazami Goudarzi's Detention Extended for Another Month

The detention order for Farzad Moazami Goudarzi, a relative of Reza Moazami Goudarzi, who was killed during the nationwide protests in November 2019, has been extended for another month. The news agency of human rights activists in Iran, Hrana, reported, citing an informed source: "On Sunday, April 16, Mr. Moazami's family visited Evin Prison to meet their son, but the officials at the Evin Prosecutor's Office informed them that Farzad's detention had been extended for another month." Farzad Moazami Goudarzi was arrested on April 5 this year by security forces in front of his residence in Borujerd and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Evin Prison, known as Ward 209. According to reports, Farzad Moazami Goudarzi was arrested in Borujerd by "12 agents" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "with severe beatings." The reports indicate that the IRGC agents not only arrested the cousin of the bereaved Reza Moazami Goudarzi but also raided Farzad Moazami's home and confiscated his and his family's personal belongings. Reza Moazami Goudarzi, born in 1999, was killed by government agents on November 26 during the crackdown on the November 2019 protests in Shahriar, and his body was buried in a village in Borujerd after organ donation. Farzad Moazami Goudarzi had previously been arrested on the eve of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death during the Guidance Patrol's crackdown and the start of the nationwide protests in 2022. The arrests of those seeking justice and the relatives of the victims of the protests continue, while member countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a resolution on April 16 to extend the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran and the UN fact-finding committee for another year. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the actions of the intelligence and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic in exerting pressure on the seekers of justice and the families of the victims of the nationwide protests. For instance, the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic summoned the bereaved Manouchehr Bakhtiari online for the third time while he was serving his sentence in prison. Mashallah Karami, the father of the executed protester Mohammad Mahdi Karami, who was arrested before the anniversary of the nationwide protests in 2022, is still in prison. Exclusive: Ali Moazami Goudarzi was denied visitation after protesting the search of his mother in Qom prison. A human rights organization reported the renewed arrest of the father of the bereaved Reza Lotfi. Continued pressure on families seeking justice; Farzad Moazami Goudarzi was arrested "with severe beatings" in Borujerd. Reza Salmanzadeh suffered a stroke in prison; an informed source: officials are withholding information from his family. Reactions to the release of details about the killing of Nika Shakeri: "Her killers will be punished." Dozens of bereaved families demanded the unconditional release of Tomaj Salehi.