Saeed Razavi Faqih Hospitalized with 'Handcuffs and Legcuffs'

Saeed Razavi Faqih, a political prisoner who was transferred to the hospital last week for heart surgery, spent the entire time 'in handcuffs and legcuffs' and is 'forbidden from receiving visitors.' The Jaras website, close to reformists, published this news. The Ensaf News website reported on February 5 that Saeed Razavi Faqih, a journalist and reformist activist, was transferred from Rajai Shahr prison to the hospital a few days ago and underwent surgery. According to this site, 'five heart arteries' of Mr. Razavi Faqih were 'replaced' during this surgery. One of the treating physicians wrote a 'recommendation letter' stating that Mr. Razavi Faqih 'must not be under any stress' and his return to prison under these conditions is 'not appropriate.' On the same day, the Kaleme website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported that Saeed Razavi Faqih is hospitalized at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran. According to this site, several security agents have 'severely' isolated this political prisoner and are 'preventing' him from communicating with others. Saeed Razavi Faqih was arrested on March 6, 2014, after widespread attacks by hardline media affiliated with the conservative faction of the Islamic Republic, including Fars News Agency and Tasnim, on his speech to reformists in Hamadan. According to news reports, Mr. Razavi Faqih had placed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, alongside other rulers of Iran before the 1979 revolution in his remarks. He stated: 'Since the Constitutional Revolution until now, we have seen seven rulers; the seventh ruler is Ayatollah Khamenei, and the other six rulers have passed away. Among these six rulers, the first ruler (Mozafar al-Din Shah) and the sixth ruler (Ayatollah Khomeini) ended their rule and maintained their respect and were buried in Iran, while the other four rulers never ended their rule or died in exile.' The member of the former Office for Strengthening Unity refers to Mohammad Ali Shah, Ahmad Shah, Reza Shah, and Mohammad Reza Shah, who died in exile abroad. After Mr. Razavi Faqih's arrest, the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office announced that his arrest was not due to his speech in Hamadan but because of a previous case for which this former member of the Central Council of the Office for Strengthening Unity had been sentenced to one year in prison. Saeed Razavi Faqih is a former member of the Central Committee of the Union of Islamic Associations in Europe and was a member of the Central Council of the Office for Strengthening Unity in the early 2000s. He has worked for newspapers such as Bonyan, Sobhe Emruz, Nowruz, and Yas-e-No and was also arrested and imprisoned due to his protests against the apostasy ruling issued for Hashem Aghajeri.