Maryam Nayeb Yazdi

The families of political prisoners Ali Saremi and Reza Sharifi Boukani, who have referred to the Revolutionary Court in Tehran several times inquiring on the status of their loved ones’ case files, have not [to date] received a convincing response; instead, they have experienced rude reactions by authorities. Court officials responded to the families by asking, “Why are they still alive? Their sentences should have been implemented by now.” The families were escorted out of the court.

Saremi and Boukani are both held in ward 4 of Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, Iran. During the last few days, Intelligence agents attacked prisoners in ward 4 and confiscated some personal items, including the writings of Saremi and Boukani. These two political prisoners were then limited from accessing the public area of the prison, which consequently has caused their families to become more concerned.

63 year old Mohammad Ali Saremi was arrested in September 2007 for speaking at the memorial event in Khavaran cemetery for victims of the 1988 prison massacres.  After enduring 26 months of solitary confinement, interrogations, and torture in Evin prison, a death sentence was delivered to him in prison on December 29, 2009 by branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court.

Saremi was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison on August 29, 2010. He was interrogated for disclosing intolerable prison conditions [to the public] and protesting against the lack of due process in regards to his death sentence.

Mahin Saremi, Ali Saremi’s wife, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, “Once we also went to see our son at Camp Ashraf [in Iraq] in 2005. A short time after our return we were arrested and my husband spent a year in prison. A few months later he was arrested on charges of participating in ceremonies commemorating the 19th anniversary of the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988. But I don’t know why he suddenly received the death sentence last year after the elections.”

Reza Sharifi Boukani is charged with “espionage” and “Moharebeh” (waging war against God). He was arrested by Intelligence agents on May 5, 2010 in Tehran. He remains detained in Rajai Shahr prison. He has been interrogated and tortured to make a false televised confession. Boukani is a Kurdish political prisoner.

- Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, 
editor,  //persian2english.com/?p=15947 
Translation by Azadeh Sabz