Iran: New Wave of Arrests of MEK Families and Released Prisoners in Fear of an Uprising

 

Written by
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

Call for the release of political prisoners and the formation of an international delegation to visit Iranian prisons
On November 17, 2020, the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) announced that on the eve of the anniversary of the November 2019 uprising, and in fear of escalating popular protests, the repressive forces arrested a large number of former political prisoners, as well as Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) families. A number of them were summoned and threatened, refraining them from participating in any activities on the anniversary of the November uprising. The statement announced the arrest of released prisoners in Sanghar, Semnan, and Tehran.

In the following days, at the same time as the closure of 150 metropolises and cities, and in fear of the uprising, the wave of arrests of families and supporters of the MEK has continued. Famous families such as the Vafaee family of Tehran were among those arrested. Pouria Vahidian, aged 27, a close relative of MEK martyr, Saeed Moghimi, a victim of the 1988 massacre in Tehran, is also among those recently arrested. He had previously been imprisoned, between 2018 and 2020, and was released in May 2020 after serving his sentence.

The Iranian Resistance once again urges the United Nations and other human rights organizations to take immediate action to secure the release of political prisoners to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe at the height of the Coronavirus outbreak. The Iranian resistance reiterates the need to establish an international commission of inquiry to visit Iran’s prisons and meet with prisoners, especially political prisoners.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
November 21, 2020

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