Re-arrest of Morteza Moradpour, Civil Activist

Morteza Moradpour, a civil activist residing in Tabriz, was arrested on Sunday afternoon while on a city bus heading home by four intelligence officers and was taken to Tabriz prison. Moradpour had been released from Tabriz prison under open bail (conditional release of a defendant/offender by court order) after a 65-day hunger strike. This arrest occurred while he was receiving treatment from specialized doctors outside of prison due to the effects of his prolonged hunger strike, and according to a gastroenterologist's certificate that was seen by Radio Farda, he requires further treatment and is at risk of deteriorating health due to the limited medical facilities in Tabriz prison. Naqi Mahmoudi, a lawyer residing in Germany and former attorney for some civil activists, told Radio Farda that Moradpour was pursued due to his participation in the Ilgoli (Shahgoli) conference in June 2009 in Tabriz and was arrested three days later in a student dormitory by intelligence officers. This conference was officially sanctioned by the government and had recreational and sports aspects, but during the event, some civil activists shouted slogans in support of the right to education in their mother tongue and against the drying of Lake Urmia, which led to the arrest of several individuals, including Moradpour. Moradpour was tried in the Tabriz Revolutionary Court and sentenced to one year in prison for propaganda against the Islamic Republic and two years for conspiracy to commit a crime against national security. He served part of his sentence six months after his arrest and was released on bail, but returned to prison in November 2015 to serve the remainder of his sentence. On November 4, 2016, in protest against the non-application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which concerns the aggregation of sentences and the rejection of his requests in this regard, he wrote a letter to the head of the judiciary of East Azerbaijan Province, protesting the illegal proceedings and execution of the court's ruling, and went on a hunger strike until officials addressed his complaints. Mahmoudi stated that on the evening of Wednesday, December 28, 2016, after 65 days of hunger strike, he ended his strike due to his mother's repeated requests and the firm promise of Fazli Nia (the supervising judge of Tabriz prison) and members of the prison council to meet his demands. Currently, nine months remain of his total prison sentence.