Summoning and Arrest of Disabled Individuals; Blind Lawyer Nasser Sargaran Arrested in Saqqez

Human rights sources reported the arrest of Nasser Sargaran, a blind lawyer, in the city of Saqqez, located in Kurdistan province. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, this university lecturer and disability rights activist was transferred to the detention center of the Intelligence Department in Sanandaj after his arrest on Wednesday, October 11. No information has been released regarding the charges against this lawyer. The Disability Campaign identified Nasser Sargaran as born in 1987, a victim of a landmine explosion left over from the war in 1993, and holding a PhD in international law from Tehran University. In addition to Nasser Sargaran, two other disability rights activists, Behrouz Marouti, the director of the Disability Campaign residing in Tehran, and Leila Mirkhushhal, the former admin of this campaign residing in Qazvin, were summoned by security agencies on the same day. According to reports from this campaign, agents also confiscated some personal belongings, including Behrouz Marouti's mobile phone. The Disability Campaign, in a series of tweets on X (formerly Twitter), linked the summoning of its director and former admin to an investigation regarding the Parto School. According to this report, the 'Parto Online School, under the Eurasia Foundation and the U.S. government,' which held free online training courses for various groups, including the disabled, had 'malicious objectives.' The campaign did not provide any explanation regarding the nature of these 'malicious objectives' and how they impact the disabled. The campaign for the rights of disabled individuals has been pursuing the demands for the rights of the disabled and has held several protests in various cities against the non-implementation of Article 27 of the Disability Law. Disabled individuals held a protest in front of the Islamic Republic's presidential office. The death of a disabled child in Tehran; the father filed a complaint due to 'bruises and burns.' Assault on disabled individuals at a rehabilitation center in Bushehr; the Welfare Organization shut down 'Niloufaran Abi.' Protests by retirees and disabled individuals have occurred in several cities in Iran.