ISNA: Vahid Sayadi Nasiri Intended 'Malicious Actions'

The ISNA news agency reported, citing 'an informed source', that Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who died in prison, was a member of the 'Tondar' group and was arrested for 'planning to carry out malicious actions'. Meanwhile, according to Sayadi Nasiri's family, he was detained on charges of 'insulting sacred beliefs, insulting the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and propaganda against the regime' on social media, especially Facebook. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison in the initial court, was released in Farvardin this year after serving two and a half years due to a Nowruz pardon. His release as a political and ideological prisoner lasted only a few months, and in Mordad this year, the intelligence office of Qom city re-arrested him. In recent days, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri went on a hunger strike in protest of his detention conditions in Qom prison and requested to be transferred to Evin prison. According to the public prosecutor of Qom, he was transferred to the hospital due to 'liver disease' and died after 'seven days'. Mehdi Kaheh, the prosecutor of Qom, stated on Thursday the 22nd that the cause of death is 'under investigation by forensic medicine', but he remained silent about the news of the hunger strike of this prisoner. 'An informed source' told ISNA on Sunday, the 25th of Azar, that Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, after his first release from prison, 'began collaborating with the terrorist group Tondar under the aliases Arash Sayadi and Shapur Zolaktaf, and was arrested and transferred to prison due to the group's planning for explosive actions on 1/5/97 in Qom.' This 'informed source', whose name was not mentioned, introduced the Tondar group as synonymous with the 'Monarchy Association'; however, the 'Monarchy Association of Iran' has denied its connection with the Tondar group. The Monarchy Association of Iran was founded by Fathollah Manoochehri, known as Farood Fooladvand, a prominent opponent of the Islamic Republic, who has been missing since 2007. According to the official website of the Tondar group, which is based in the United States, members of this group seek to establish a monarchy by electing a new king from among the people of Iran, 'by the people's vote'. The official who interviewed ISNA on Sunday identified the Tondar group as responsible for the bombing in Farvardin 88 at the Seyyed al-Shuhada Hosseiniyeh in Shiraz. In the bombing of the Seyyed al-Shuhada Hosseiniyeh, which occurred on the 24th of Farvardin 1388 during a weekly religious ceremony of the Rahpooyan Vasal Center in Shiraz, 14 people, including 2 children, lost their lives, and over 200 others were injured. Following this, three suspects were executed without due process for their alleged involvement in this bombing. The U.S. Department of State, on Thursday, the 22nd of Azar, issued a statement expressing sorrow over the death of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri in Qom prison and condemned it as a 'severe' violation of human rights in Iran. In this context, the funeral ceremony for Vahid Sayadi Nasiri was held in the presence of 'security agents'. The U.S. State Department reacted 'strongly' to the 'brutal' death of Sayadi Nasiri in prison. Sayadi Nasiri's sister stated that they were told not to speak against the regime during the mourning ceremony. The prosecutor of Qom stated that Vahid Sayadi died in the hospital. 'They said come to the Behesht-e Masoumeh'; an interview with Vahid Sayadi Nasiri's sister. A political prisoner died due to 'hunger strike in Qom prison'. Severe governmental repression and the risk of protests going 'underground'. What doctors and eyewitnesses recount about the injured protesters. The revelation of the limitations of China-Iran relations amid the protests.