Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab Transferred to Solitary Confinement in Qazalhasar Prison as Punishment

Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab, a political prisoner held in Qazalhasar Prison in Karaj, was transferred to solitary confinement as a punitive measure. According to the Harana news agency, this transfer occurred on Tuesday, March 20, following the chanting of protest slogans in the prison yard. A source close to the family of this political prisoner confirmed the news, stating that Mr. Ahmadi Raghab and a group of prisoners with the right to work in the prison workshop had previously staged a sit-in. Following this sit-in, on Sunday, the prisoners who had the right to work were prohibited from continuing their jobs. According to the report, in protest against this decision, Ahmadi Raghab chanted protest slogans on the morning of Tuesday, which led to his transfer to solitary confinement. This political prisoner was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of exile in July 2024 in a case initiated by complaints from the authorities of Qazalhasar Prison during his incarceration. The enforcement of this sentence eliminated the possibility of his release after five years of imprisonment in a previous case. He was transferred from Evin Prison to Qazalhasar Prison last September along with a group of political prisoners. Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab was arrested in late March 2023 and transferred to Evin Prison, where in June 2023, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to five years and eight months in prison along with supplementary penalties. Ahmadi Raghab was among 14 civil and political activists who, on June 12, 2019, demanded the resignation of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and changes to the Iranian Constitution in a letter. He is one of the founders of the human rights campaign "Tuesdays Against the Death Penalty," which began on January 30, 2024, initiated by a group of political and civil activists imprisoned in Qazalhasar and continues to this day.