News Sources: Arash Sadeghi's Wife and One of His Friends Arrested

According to reports from some news sources, Golrokh Ebrahimi, the wife of Arash Sadeghi, and Saeed Eghbali, one of their friends, were arrested on Sunday, January 22. The website of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, HRANA, quoted a "close source" to Ms. Ebrahimi's family stating that Arash Sadeghi was transferred to Shahid Tajrish Hospital for tests on Sunday morning. According to this report, Golrokh Ebrahimi and Saeed Eghbali were heading to the hospital when they were arrested by the "Sepah Tharallah" forces. The website reported that Ms. Ebrahimi has been transferred to Evin Prison and in a call with her mother, she requested her belongings to be delivered to the prison. The report adds that Mr. Eghbali has been transferred to an "unknown location." Arash Sadeghi had previously gone on a hunger strike for over 70 days in protest against his wife's arrest, which ended on January 3 when Ms. Ebrahimi was granted leave. Some websites reported that Mr. Sadeghi had previously stated that he would go on hunger strike again if his wife was returned to prison. This political prisoner was transferred to the hospital on the evening of January 7, but shortly after, websites reported that he was returned to prison despite doctors' opinions that he needed hospitalization. Some news sources also reported that the Tehran prosecutor conditioned Mr. Sadeghi's leave on his wife's return to prison. Several other political prisoners had also gone on hunger strikes in recent months, with Saeed Shirzad and Ali Shariati ending theirs, but no reports have been published regarding the continuation or end of the hunger strikes of Nazaar Zaka, a Lebanese citizen imprisoned in Iran, Mohammad Reza Nokonam, and Mehdi Kouhian. On January 5, the hashtag calling for Ali Shariati's freedom trended globally on Twitter. Prior to that, the hashtag related to Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike had also trended globally, and ultimately, Mr. Sadeghi's wife was granted leave, leading him to end his hunger strike. In this context, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, warned on January 10 about the situation of prisoners on hunger strike and called for their unconditional release. However, Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, on January 17, described the media coverage of issues such as political prisoners' hunger strikes as "media manipulation" and a "crime," urging officials of this branch to pay "no attention" to it. Regarding the situation of these political prisoners, several members of parliament expressed their concerns on Twitter, and Elias Hazrati, a representative from Tehran, wrote a letter to the head of the judiciary requesting that if any rights of these prisoners have been "violated," they be "restored." In contrast, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, criticized the representatives' "support" for these prisoners on January 5, accusing them of "weakening" the judiciary. In recent years, many political prisoners in Iran have gone on hunger strikes, and some of them, including Hadi Saber and Akbar Mohammadi, have died due to lack of medical attention during their hunger strikes. Concerns have also been raised about Kamal Foroughi, an Iranian-British citizen who has been in prison since May 2011. His son announced that despite promises from judicial officials for medical leave, his father is still imprisoned. Kamran Foroughi, in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, stated that Tehran prosecutors promised his father's lawyer on January 7 that he would be granted leave on January 12, but this promise has not yet been fulfilled. He said his father has spent 2,087 days in prison since his arrest, while after spending 1,100 days, he has been "eligible for conditional release." Kamran Foroughi expressed concern for his 77-year-old father's health, emphasizing that he has been transferred to the hospital and doctors have stated that he needs to be transferred back for further tests, but this has not yet occurred. Kamal Foroughi, who also holds British citizenship, was arrested in May 2011 and sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "espionage" and "possessing alcoholic beverages." Amnesty International warned on September 14 about Kamal Foroughi's health status, stating that he needs immediate surgery. Earlier, on October 25, Kamran Foroughi, along with Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari, had urged the British government to increase its efforts and pressure for the release of their relatives. According to the spokesperson for the judiciary, the five-year prison sentence for Ms. Zaghari has recently been upheld in the appeals court.