Exclusive; Severe Physical Harm to Saman Yasin Due to Pressure from Repeated Court Session Cancellation

A source related to Qazalhasar prison informed Voice of America that on Wednesday, after Judge Salavati canceled Saman Saidi (Yasin)'s court session for the fourth time, this political prisoner and protest rapper suffered a nervous breakdown and "sustained severe head injuries from the intensity of his anger." According to reports received by Voice of America, Saman Saidi's case was supposed to be reviewed on Wednesday, February 7, after "17 months of uncertainty" at the Islamic Revolutionary Court, but while this political prisoner was summoned to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, he realized upon leaving the prison that Abolqasem Salavati, the head of the branch, had canceled the court session "for the fourth time." The informed source stated that following this action by Judge Salavati, "Saman Yasin attacked the curtains and decorations installed in the public area of the prison and tore them all down." The source also told Voice of America that due to the psychological pressure resulting from the uncertainty of this political prisoner and the cancellation of his court session for the fourth time, Saman Yasin "sustained severe head injuries due to his anger" after this incident. According to this source, Saman Yasin is currently "in the political prisoners' hall" and has refused treatment from prison doctors. This protest rapper had previously been in "poor health" due to a continued hunger strike and deprivation of access to medical services. After more than 15 months of detention, Saman Saidi (Yasin) remains in a state of uncertainty in Qazalhasar prison in Karaj, and it had previously been announced that his case was to be reviewed in Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, presided over by Mohammad Reza Amouzad, which had been postponed "for various reasons." The psychological and physical pressure on Saman Yasin, the protest rapper who was arrested during the protests of 1401, has a history. Earlier, a member of the German Parliament and Saman Yasin's political sponsor told Voice of America that this protest rapper, who is in prison, has been tortured in Evin. The U.S. State Department has also condemned the horrific details of torture and the artificial execution of Saman Yasin, condemning the sham executions, torture, and issuance of death sentences without fair trials in Iran. The pressure on prisoners in Iranian prisons and the violation of their rights by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly resulted in physical and psychological harm to them, leading in some cases to self-immolation and suicide, and some have even lost their lives.