Soheil Arabi Beaten and Transferred to Fashafoie Prison

Soheil Arabi Beaten and Transferred to Fashafoie Prison

Soheil Arabi, prisoner of conscience, have been transferred to Fashafoie Prison from Evin Prison. He was also beaten on January 31, 2018. Beating Mr. Arabi has caused bruise on his body.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Soheil Arabi, prisoner of conscience, have been transferred to Fashafoie Prison from Evin Prison after being beaten on January 31, 2018.

He was beaten by prison guards on arrival at Fashafoie Prison (Tehran-e-Bozorg), as the effects of beatings are visible on his body.

The prison officers told Soheil Arabi while beating him that “here is not Evin Prison, and its laws are unified”. They then seized or destroyed all his books and personal belongings.

It had been told him that he would be transferred to the Karaj Rajai Shahr Prison but, contrary to what was said, he was transferred to Fashafoie Prison.

Prison authorities did not explain the reason of this decision. However, in January 2018, Atena Daemi and Golrokh Irai, two other prisoners in Evin prison were also deported to Qarchak prison in Varamin.

It should be noted that Soheil Arabi, 32, photographer, was arrested on November 7, 2013, by the agents of Sarallah Revolutionary Guards Corps due to critical posts on his Facebook page. He was sentenced to death on charge of insulting the Prophet due to his writings in Facebook in Branch 76 of Tehran’s Criminal Court headed by Judge Siamak Modir Khorasani. Subsequently, his lawyers appealed to branch 36 of the Supreme Court and had raised Article 263 of the Islamic Penal Code based on his case and confession for his pardon.

According to Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code, if a person insults the Prophet Muhammad, his sentence will be death, but Article 263 had emphasized that “the death sentence will be reduced to 74 lashes if the defendant claims that the offensive words were based on anger, quotation, or triviality, in the court.”

After appealing, branch 76 of Tehran’s Criminal Court and referred to branch 36 of the Supreme Court, the Branch also illegally added the charge of “corruption on earth” to the case and confirmed the death sentence of the prisoner. According to the verdict, Soheil Arabi was sentenced to corruption on earth by the “multiple pages of Facebook”, but with the efforts of the lawyers and family of Soheil Arabi, his retrial request was accepted by the Supreme Court, and this time Branch 34 of Supreme Court cancelled his death sentence and sent the case to a court for retrial. The court removed the charge of insulting the Prophet and sentenced Soheil to seven and a half years of imprisonment and two years of religious inquiry (to prove regret) and two years of prohibition on leaving the country.

Soheil Arabi was detained and imprisoned since November 7, 2013, and has been deprived of furlough.

In addition to the sentence issued by Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court against him, he was sentenced to a fine of 5 million IRR and 30 lashes on charges of insulting the Director of Allameh Tabataba’i University, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and Gholamali Haddad Adedl through his writings on Facebook by Branch 10 of special court for government employees in 2014. He was also sentenced to 3 years in prison on charges of insulting Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic and propaganda against the regime at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, which was confirmed at Branch 54 of the Appeals Court.

It should be noted that while he was serving the fourth year of his sentence, he was informed of the detention of his wife, Nastaran Naeemi on July 31, 2017.

Nastaran Naeemi was arrested on charge of Propaganda against the regime. In addition, Mr. Arabi was accused in this case at branch 3 of Moghaddas court of Evin.

HRANA News Agency