Punitive Transfer of Political Prisoner to Solitary Confinement and Concerns About the Health of a Imprisoned Dervish

In the continuing pressure on political prisoners, Mohammad Taghavi, a prisoner accused of 'Baghi', has been transferred to solitary confinement as a punitive measure, and the family of Mazaher Heydari, an imprisoned dervish, has expressed concern about his health following a hunger strike. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, Mohammad Taghavi, a political prisoner accused of 'Baghi' in Evin Prison, was transferred to solitary confinement on Tuesday, July 2. This former political prisoner, who has been detained since February 23 of last year, has protested against the 'fabricated cases' against him and did not attend the court session due to lack of access to a lawyer. He is accused of 'Baghi' in a joint case with five other political defendants on May 14, suspected of membership in one of the opposition groups. According to the Iran Human Rights Center, the investigator of Evin Prosecutor's Office has accused several defendants in this case, including Mohammad Taghavi, of 'communication and membership in the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization' and 'Baghi'. Under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, those accused of 'Baghi' face the possibility of the death penalty. Meanwhile, with the continuation of the hunger strike of Mazaher Heydari, a Gonabadi dervish imprisoned in Shahrekord prison, who has sewn his lips shut, his wife has warned about the danger to his life. According to the Dabban Legal Consultation Center, Fariba Hassani, referring to 11 days of uncertainty about Mazaher Heydari's health status after his dry hunger strike and sewing his lips, wrote: 'His life is in danger.' Mazaher Heydari, who was arrested on June 8, has been on hunger strike since July 4 in protest against the prison sentence and 'unfair trial' in court, without the right to defense and access to a lawyer. This Gonabadi dervish is considered one of the detainees of the nationwide protests 'Women, Life, Freedom' and had previously been arrested during the Golestan 7 events in the winter of 2018 in Tehran and spent a year in prison. Earlier, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the Iranian authorities have systematically targeted Baha'is, Christians, Gonabadi dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and non-religious individuals for harassment, detention, long-term imprisonment, exile, or prohibition from participating in political and social activities over the past several decades.