Peyman Aref, the secretary of the student group "Efforts for Democracy" and a law student at Tehran University, was arrested during the detention of student activists following the protests last June and spent over fifty days in solitary confinement in the IRGC's Ward 325. After several summons from Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Haddad, which he did not attend, he has been summoned again according to a notice delivered to his family on Saturday, March 1, 2004, to appear at 10 AM on Sunday, March 7, 2004, at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. The notice states that he is charged with actions against national security. It is worth mentioning that Aref has three open cases in Branch 26 due to his three consecutive arrests in recent years, and as a result of continuous and brutal torture by parallel intelligence services last summer, he has developed numerous physical problems, particularly heart disease. In this regard, Peyman Aref states: According to the explicit text of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, the handling of political and press charges must take place in a public court with the presence of a jury, and this issue is so important to the legislator that it has been included in the fundamental rights of the Islamic Republic. Therefore, due to the political nature of the charges against me, I do not consider the Revolutionary Court to have the legal authority and dignity to address these charges. Thus, on Sunday, I will not defend myself against the charges so as not to comply with the demands of the illegitimate Revolutionary Courts. Dear compatriots, at the same time, three other students from Alborz Teacher Training University named Mojtaba Bakhshandeh, Reza Rostami Khazaei, and Reza Hosseini Padram have been illegally arrested after returning from a ceremony commemorating Dr. Mossadegh, and there is no news about their situation. The aforementioned student organization condemns the new wave of repression against the student movement and calls on human rights organizations to pay more attention to the situation of human rights violations in Iran.
Peyman Aref: I Will Not Defend Myself Against the Charges
Peyman Aref, a student activist and secretary of the 'Efforts for Democracy' group, has been summoned to court on charges of actions against national security but refuses to defend himself, citing the illegitimacy of the Revolutionary Court. He highlights ongoing repression of student activists, including the recent illegal arrests of three fellow students. This situation underscores the broader issues of political repression and human rights violations in Iran.
👥 Key Players
⚡ Actions
📰 What Happened
Peyman Aref refuses to defend himself against charges in Iran's Revolutionary Court.
- Iranian authorities arrest Peyman Aref
- Revolutionary Court summon Peyman Aref
- Revolutionary Court charge Peyman Aref
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
The refusal to defend against charges underscores the illegitimacy of the Revolutionary Court.
📝 Key Evidence
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%