Disagreement Between Government Employees Court and Tehran Criminal Court in Eisa Saharkhiz Case

The head of the Tehran Criminal Courts, who had previously announced the formation of the 'first political crime case' in Iran for Eisa Saharkhiz, states that this court disagrees with the Government Employees Court regarding the classification of the political crime nature of the charges against this imprisoned journalist. Mohsen Eftekhari, on Sunday, October 10, told the Tasnim news agency that the Government Employees Court has referred Eisa Saharkhiz's case to the provincial criminal court for consideration under the political crime law. He added, 'We believe this case does not constitute a political crime and will likely be sent to the Supreme Court to resolve the disagreement and determine the jurisdiction of the reviewing authority.' Eftekhari's statements come despite his earlier announcement that the referral of Saharkhiz's case to the provincial criminal court constituted the formation of the 'first political crime case.' This case was formed on charges of 'insulting' the head of the judiciary while Saharkhiz has already been sentenced to 21 months in prison in another case. This imprisoned journalist has been on a hunger strike since Sunday, October 2, in protest against the 'unfulfillment of his demands.' On Saturday, October 8, dozens of media activists expressed concern about the status of Eisa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani, two imprisoned journalists, in a letter to the head of the Iranian judiciary, demanding attention to their situation. On Sunday, attorney Houshang Pourbabayi announced the temporary release of his client Ehsan Mazandarani for treatment in a hospital. Meanwhile, 119 political activists, journalists, civil society activists, and university professors issued a statement regarding the situation of Eisa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Narges Mohammadi, as well as the continued house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement, stating that 'the religious tyranny ruling the country and its security and judicial institutions add a new page to their disgraceful record every day.' The signatories of this statement called on 'senior judicial and governmental officials' in the Islamic Republic to respect the laws of the country, especially the principles of Chapter Three of the Constitution, and to release all political and ideological prisoners. Narges Mohammadi, the vice president of the Iranian Human Rights Defenders Association, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on various charges earlier this year, and the 36th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court confirmed this ruling in early October. Ms. Mohammadi has been in Evin Prison since May 2015, and according to her husband, Taghi Rahmani, she suffers from 'muscular paralysis' and the prison conditions are 'dangerous' for her. Afrin Chitsaz and Saman Safarzadeh, who were arrested alongside Ehsan Mazandarani and Eisa Saharkhiz in November 2015, remain in prison. The continued detention of these journalists comes as several journalists have also been arrested in recent months. Yashar Soltani, editor-in-chief of the Architechture News website, who was arrested on Saturday, September 17, remains in custody, and Foad Sadeghi, former editor of the 'Ayandeh' and 'Baztab Emruz' websites, has been detained since September 28.