Warning About Ali Abdi's Health in IRGC Detention: 'On the Brink of Blindness'

The Committee for Following the Status of Detainees reported that there is still no information regarding the charges and case status of Ali Abdi, a civil activist, four months after his arrest. According to this human rights monitoring group, on Thursday, November 16, Ali Abdi, who returned to Iran after 14 years on June 22 of this year and was arrested shortly thereafter in Isfahan, is currently being held in Ward 2-A of the IRGC Intelligence Organization at Evin Prison. The committee states that Abdi was transferred to Tehran a few days after his arrest in Isfahan and is still 'under interrogation in the IRGC security ward.' The report mentions that Ali Abdi was arrested while seeking treatment for his eyes in Isfahan and is currently 'on the brink of blindness due to lack of adequate medical services.' Ali Abdi, a graduate of Sharif University of Technology, obtained a master's degree in gender studies from Budapest University in Poland after emigrating in 2009, and then pursued a PhD in anthropology at Yale University in the United States. He had been living in Kabul in recent years and was also detained by Taliban forces after their takeover in Afghanistan. Abdi returned to Iran on June 22 of this year and went to Isfahan, but was arrested a few days later. Previous reports indicate that the arrest of civil activists by the Islamic Republic forces has increased in various cities across Iran, including the mass arrest of dozens of women’s rights activists in Gilan province. Additionally, reports of 'mass arrests' of female civil activists in Rasht have emerged. The Tehran prosecutor 'after a week' allowed the transfer of Narges Mohammadi to the hospital. The Revolutionary Court of Zanjan sentenced a protesting citizen to 'monetary penalties instead of imprisonment.' Exclusively, the appeals court confirmed the 8-month prison sentence for Hamidreza Najafi.