Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 21, 2022: Human Rights Defender Rasoul Bodaghi has been held incommunicado in the solitary confinement cells of Ward 240 of Evin Prison for 50 days.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Rasoul Bodaghi has been held incommunicado in Evin Prison for 50 days. He was held in a cell in Ward 209 of Evin Prison with three others following his arrest on April 30. However, since he was transferred to Ward 240, he has only made one brief phone call to his family and all efforts to contact or visit him have been futile. No charges have been brought against him.
Rasoul Bodaghi is a teacher and a member of the board of directors of the Iranian Teachers’ Union and was arrested with other teachers in the lead up to planned protests to mark Teacher’s Week. He has faced arrests and jail time several times in previous years due to his activism.
According to informed sources, the teachers’ families have unsuccessfully tried to visit and contact them. Despite promises of answers upon written requests by Evin Prison officials, they have received no answers.
“When the families went to Evin Court, Mahmoud Haj Moradi, the investigator at Branch 2 of the Court told them that the case expert (interrogator) had prohibited the teachers visitation rights,” an informed source told Iran Human Rights.
His lawyer, Ramin Safarnia has also been prevented from accessing his client’s case file or any form of contact with him.
Prior to his current arrest, Rasoul Bodaghi was facing another sentence of five years. On April 16, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to five years for charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and a year for “propaganda against the system.” He was also banned from leaving the country and residing in Tehran or its neighbouring provinces for two years. On June 1, his lawyer tweeted that Rasoul’s sentence had been upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court.
The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) limits the period of solitary confinement to a maximum of 15 consecutive days, prohibiting solitary confinement for indefinite terms and stipulates that it may only be imposed by a competent authority in accordance with the principles of fairness and due process and must be subject to independent review.