Re-summoning of Human Rights Activists Asadollah Fakhimi and Houri Khanpour to Evin Prosecutor's Office

Asadollah Fakhimi and Houri Khanpour, a couple of human rights activists, have been summoned again to Branch 1 of the Evin Prosecutor's Office. According to information received by Voice of America, in separate notifications issued for this activist couple, while the reason for their summons is stated as 'defending against a new attributed charge,' no mention has been made of what this charge is. According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Asadollah Fakhimi and Houri Khanpour had previously appeared at the Evin Prosecutor's Office on August 13 of this year on the charge of 'propaganda against the regime.' They were released on bail of 200 million tomans until the end of the judicial proceedings. HRANA also reported that agents from the Ministry of Intelligence had searched the couple's home on July 9 of this year and confiscated several personal items, including their laptops and mobile phones. Recently, Asadollah Fakhimi, along with Mohammad Seifzadeh, the vice president of the Human Rights Defenders Center, and a group of civil activists, visited the parents of Narges Mohammadi in Zanjan to commemorate November 7 (Cyrus the Great Day) and presented them with a human rights statue. Additionally, Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, emphasized in his recent report that the situation of human rights violations in Iran will not change until fundamental freedoms are guaranteed by law. Previously, Michelle Taylor, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, also criticized the 'blatant disregard of the Iranian regime for human rights and freedom of expression.'