Exclusive | New 'Case-Making' Against Reza Salmanzadeh; The Plaintiff is the Tehran Province Prisons Organization

A source close to Reza Salmanzadeh informed Voice of America that judicial officials of the Islamic Republic have sent a 'new case-making' notification for this rights-seeking prisoner in Ghezal Hesar prison in Alborz province. According to documents received by Voice of America on Wednesday, August 31, and based on the mentioned notification, Reza Salmanzadeh must appear on the morning of October 17 'regarding the lawsuit of the Tehran Province Prisons Organization' in Branch 54 of the General Public Court of Government Employees in Tehran. The source close to Reza Salmanzadeh also told Voice of America that an individual named 'Abbas Shafiei' in the Prisons Organization is 'case-making' against this political prisoner based on 'personal animosity' and holds the title of 'representative of the Prisons Organization' in this case. Reza Salmanzadeh is the father of Mahdi Salmanzadeh, a teenage protester whose lifeless body was found after the widespread protests of November 2019, and his father was imprisoned following his quest for justice. During the fire at Evin prison amid the widespread protests of 2022, Reza Salmanzadeh was one of the prisoners who faced charges including 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) and 'efsad fil arz' (corruption on earth), and was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison and 74 lashes for 'destruction of property,' one year in prison and 74 lashes for 'disruption of prison order,' and one year in prison for 'disobedience and rebellion against officials' orders. Additionally, it is noted that the Islamic Republic sentenced 40 defendants of the Evin fire to '265 years in prison and over 5,000 lashes.' The 'new case-making' against Reza Salmanzadeh comes while previous reports indicated that this rights-seeking prisoner suffered a 'stroke' in Ghezal Hesar prison in May of this year and was transferred to the hospital.