Imprisoned Blogger's Concern Over Exile to Tabas

Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, an imprisoned blogger, expressed concern about his exile and transfer to Tabas in a letter to his daughter, Mitra Pourshajari, asking for help. He wrote: "Help me!" Pourshajari, who wrote critical opinions under the pseudonym "Siamak Mehr" on the blog "Report to the Soil of Iran," was re-arrested and transferred to prison last October after serving four years in prison. Radio Farda interviewed his daughter, Mitra Pourshajari, who is currently in Sweden, to inquire about her father's situation. Mitra Pourshajari stated: "My father was released after serving four years, but after 38 days, he was re-arrested and sentenced to one year in prison and two years of exile to Tabas. Now, in the month of Shahrivar, the month in which my father wrote the letter, is the last month before he is to be exiled to Tabas on October 1. They are not being sent to a prison; some people misunderstand this. They are being exiled to the city of Tabas, where they must report to the local police station every day. My father wrote this letter because, given his health issues from his previous imprisonment and the new prison sentence, he is in a dire physical condition. Two and a half years ago, he was supposed to undergo heart surgery; now he has high blood sugar, a herniated disc, prostate swelling, and several other illnesses that have never been addressed during this time. He wrote this letter asking for help from human rights organizations and individuals, hoping that due to my father's health condition, pressure could be applied to cancel his exile to Tabas, where the conditions are poor, and there is insufficient access to hospitals, doctors, and no relatives nearby. As relatives of Mr. Pourshajari, what can you do since your father has never had a defense attorney? Yes, in the first two years I was in Iran, we tried very hard to get a lawyer, but the court did not accept the lawyers we appointed for my father, and they insisted on appointing a lawyer themselves. My father, during interrogations and throughout this process, as he explained in a letter he wrote about a month and a half to two months ago, stated that he no longer wanted to hire a lawyer because no judge or court would accept the charges against him, such as propaganda against the regime, actions against national security, insults to sanctities, and insults to the leadership that have been leveled against him over the years. Therefore, he stopped trying to get a lawyer because he rejected the legitimacy of the court, the prosecutor, and these charges. In such a situation, what can you do as Mr. Pourshajari's family and he himself? Until now, despite the international pressures that have been exerted over the years, I can say that all reputable human rights organizations, including the UN and Amnesty International, and other organizations and groups have tried for my father, but unfortunately, we have not been able to even ensure that he receives treatment or that his health condition is addressed. Now, even though my father has requested help in this letter, my family in Iran and I here are all trying to do something for my father, but unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve anything so far. How do you communicate with your father? Do you have contact through letters or phone calls? Yes, my father calls me because he has been transferred from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj to the Central Correctional Facility in Karaj, where he is currently held in a special crimes section. This is also one of the examples of how my father has been tortured and mistreated. He can make calls from this public section, and occasionally he can contact me, allowing me to inquire about his condition to some extent.