Protest Letter from Hossein Rafiei's Daughter to Hassan Rouhani

The daughter of Mohammad Hossein Rafiei, a national-religious activist imprisoned in Evin prison, wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, protesting against the 'illegal' actions of the Ministry of Intelligence 'under the command' of Mr. Rouhani regarding her father, as well as the denial of leave for the 71-year-old professor. Ana Rafiei stated in the letter published on Friday, March 14, on the Kaleme website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, that her mother 'must live in peace and away from the noise and pollution of the city' due to 'heart and respiratory problems' as per the doctor's orders, and had been living in Damavand long before her father's arrest. However, the raid by the Ministry of Intelligence forces in July 2014 on her mother's home 'led to a nervous shock and attack' for her. In the letter, she mentioned that her mother's illness has 'progressed and according to the doctor's orders requires surgery,' and that her mother had requested leave for her father from prison to 'be with him under these conditions,' but the Tehran prosecutor responded that for this request, 'one must refer to forensic medicine.' Ana Rafiei added: 'Isn't it injustice that my mother, in an emergency and with pain, has to go to forensic medicine to see if my father will be granted leave or not?' At the end of the letter, recalling Mohammad Hossein Rafiei's thirty years of academic experience as a professor at Tehran University, she asked Mr. Rouhani, as the responsible party for enforcing citizens' rights, to restore the 'violated rights' of her and the Rafiei family. Ana Rafiei had previously informed Radio Farda that her father was arrested on June 16 'without prior summons and in the street.' Mr. Rafiei had been sentenced to six years in prison by the primary court under the ruling of Abolqasem Salavati, head of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, but at the time of his arrest, this ruling had not been confirmed in the appeals court. Subsequently, the national-religious website reported on March 3 that this ruling had been confirmed in the appeals court. During this time, the American Chemical Society expressed concern about the situation of this 71-year-old professor in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic. Additionally, more than 360 university professors in Europe and the United States, including Noam Chomsky, a prominent figure at MIT, have called on Hassan Rouhani to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Rafiei. In this context, concerns about Hossein Rafiei's situation in prison have been raised as the appeals court confirmed the six-year sentence for Mohammad Hossein Rafiei, a member of the imprisoned Council of National-Religious Activists.