Lawyer for Imprisoned Journalists: We Have No Information on the Case of Afrin Chitsaz

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer for several imprisoned journalists, announced that the court proceedings for Ehsan Mazandarani, Davood Asadi, and Saman Safarzadeh have concluded, but he has 'no information' regarding Afrin Chitsaz's case and does not know her current situation. In an interview with the Shargh newspaper on Tuesday, April 16, he reported that the trials of Ehsan Mazandarani and Davood Asadi, two imprisoned journalists, ended with charges of 'propaganda against the regime,' 'insulting the leadership,' and 'conspiracy to act against national security' at the end of last year. According to Alizadeh Tabatabai, Eisa Saharkhiz has also been charged with 'spreading falsehoods' and 'insulting the head of the judiciary,' which are not under the jurisdiction of the revolutionary court, and it has been decided that these charges will be referred to a general court. He also announced that Saharkhiz's defense statement has not yet been submitted, and the proceedings regarding his case in the revolutionary court have not yet concluded. Regarding Afrin Chitsaz, another imprisoned journalist, he stated, 'We have no information about her, and we do not know the status of her case at all.' The lawyer did not mention who is representing Ms. Chitsaz. He noted that Saman Safarzadeh's lawyer is Mr. Mirzazadeh, and he reported that the proceedings regarding Safarzadeh's case have also concluded, but the court's ruling has not yet been issued. There has been no report on the exact timing of Davood Asadi's arrest and his background. Eisa Saharkhiz, Ehsan Mazandarani, Afrin Chitsaz, and Saman Safarzadeh were arrested on November 2 last year. The IRGC announced after the arrest of these four journalists that they had 'arrested members of a Western government infiltration network.' Ibrahim Raisi, the then Attorney General of the country, also referred to these journalists on November 13 as 'an infiltration network in the media and social networks' and as 'spies and mercenaries working for the Americans.' However, on the same day, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, warned that 'we should not play with the word infiltration.' In this context, Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, also confirmed that the purpose of these arrests was 'political reckoning,' and Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, expressed concern that the aim of these arrests was 'to instill fear in journalists' expression before the elections.' Meanwhile, Alizadeh Tabatabai stated that Mr. Hosseinzadeh, the investigator in the case of these imprisoned journalists, has acted 'independently' and has declared that there is 'absolutely no evidence indicating espionage' in this case. According to Alizadeh Tabatabai, the investigator 'did not use the word infiltration even once in the entire indictment.' This lawyer had previously stated on Sunday, March 14, 2016, that 'neither in the indictment nor in the charges' against Ehsan Mazandarani was the issue of infiltration raised. On Tuesday, January 31, 2016, he also mentioned that despite the investigator's contrary opinion, under the influence of the prosecutor and the head of Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Eisa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani have been charged with heavier crimes such as 'acting against national security through conspiracy' and 'insulting officials.' Previously, Mehdi Saharkhiz, the son of Mr. Saharkhiz, reported that his father had 'suffered two strokes' and was transferred to a specialized heart hospital on the evening of Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Meanwhile, in recent days, a photo of Eisa Saharkhiz has been published, which, according to his son, relates to a 'sleep and nerve test (polysomnography).' Mehdi Saharkhiz stated in an interview with the Saham News website that his father has been facing 'jumps and psychological shocks while awake and also in the middle of sleep since the beginning of his detention, which sometimes reached very severe stages, requiring them to inject medication to calm him down so he could sleep.' Saeed Razavi Faqih has 'stitched his lips together.' Currently, several journalists and bloggers, including Saeed Razavi Faqih, Khosrow Kordpour, and Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, are imprisoned. Meanwhile, according to several news sites, Saeed Razavi Faqih on the afternoon of Sunday, April 15, 'stitched his lips together inside Ward 7 of Evin Prison in protest against the authorities' lack of response.' According to reports, Mr. Razavi Faqih has been on hunger strike for 13 days in protest against issues such as 'the judiciary's violations of the law' and 'the lack of separation of political prisoners.' Saeed Razavi Faqih has been in prison since March 2014 and has been sentenced to a total of four and a half years in prison for 'acting against national security, propaganda against the regime, and insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.'