Exclusive; Continuation of Yashar Tabrizi's Detention; Informed Source: This 'Ignorance' Does Not Bode Well

Eleven days after the detention of Yashar Tabrizi, a constitutional activist, an informed source told VOA that there is still no news about him, raising concerns among his relatives. On Tuesday, October 4, the source stated that Yashar Tabrizi is 'in Ward 240' of Evin Prison and has had 'no contact except for a previous short call, and the family is completely unaware of his situation.' The source, close to Tabrizi, raised the possibility of 'torture' of this human rights activist, referring to videos he had published before his arrest and noted that Yashar usually 'uses every method to communicate with his family.' He also emphasized that 'this ignorance does not bode well.' Yashar Tabrizi, a civil activist and constitutionalist residing in Shahriar, was arrested on September 14, just two days before the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in Tabriz, and after five days, he announced in a short call with his relatives that he had been transferred to Evin Prison. Some sources had previously reported his detention location as 'Ward 204' of Evin Prison, but the informed source on Tuesday, October 4, told VOA that Yashar Tabrizi, in a brief call on September 18, stated that he is in Ward 240. Access for free media and human rights organizations to prisons in Iran is not possible, and VOA cannot independently confirm the exact location of detention and the current status of this civil activist in Evin Prison. In his last video, published on September 10 on his personal account on the 'X' messaging platform, on the occasion of the birthday of Ailar Haghi, one of the victims of the nationwide protests in 2022, he emphasized: 'We will continue this path, more determined than before; with a full tongue and empty hands, against a government that has rebelled against its people.' He had previously addressed the Iranian authorities, saying: 'If your pain is the pain of preserving Bashar al-Assad's shrine, my pain is the pain of preserving security for the women of this land. If your pain is the pain of the prosperity of Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, my pain is the prosperity of Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan.' The first branch of the Shahriar Revolutionary Court sentenced Yashar Tabrizi to one year of imprisonment on charges of 'propaganda against the regime' on Thursday, September 23.