Judiciary Turns-up Pressure on Families of Detained Students

Hasan Zarezade Ardeshir - 2007.06.26
http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/06/005534.php

The security office at Tehran’s Revolutionary Court posted bail for Mojtaba Derakhshandi, the father of jailed student activist Saeed Derakhshandi, for speaking to the press about his son’s medical condition. Judge Haddad, who resides over the office, also summoned and threatened the families of several other student activists, asking them to refrain from speaking to the press.

According to a Derakhshandi family member, Mojtaba Derakhshandi, who is 75 years old, was summoned to court after he called attention to his son’s dire medical condition in an interview with a news agency. And even though the Revolutionary Court has released him on bail, he and his family members have been warned not to speak to the media.

One of Derakhshandi’s friends, who is a student, told Rooz, “Unfortunately, the Revolutionary Court has increased pressure on families of students, and has even detained Saeed’s father, despite his age, even though he did not really say anything serious. This shows that they are not beholden to any laws or norms other than their own word.”

Saeed Derakhshandi was a student activist at Yazd University and was arrested last summer. Following his arrest, Saeed’s father told the press that his son’s arrest was related to his student activism.

Derakhshandi, who was kept in solitary cell at Evin’s infamous ward 209 for a long time, was eventually sentenced to three years imprisonment. He is currently being kept at Evin’s general war # 325. Saeed’s family is concerned about his physical health. It was announced earlier that Saeed was subject to physical beatings and torture in March, which hurt his back and spine, as well as left arm. According to the Derakhshandi family, though Saeed needs immediate medical attention, prison officials refrain from transferring him to a medical clinic.

Meanwhile, it was learned that one of Derakhshandi’s colleagues, Aboulfazl Jahandar, also suffers from several medical ailments. Jahandar served in the central committee of Allameh Tabatabai University’s Islamic Student Association, and was also a member of Daftar-e Tahkim Vahdat’s [“Office for Fostering Student Solidarity”] general assembly.

Like his colleague Derakhshandi, Jahandar was arrested last summer. After spending several months in a solitary cell at Evin’s ward 209, he was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment by the sixth branch of the Revolutionary Court for “undermining national security” and “conspiring to disrupt public order and security.”