The relatives of political prisoner Zia Nabavi say they’ve been left in the dark regarding his condition.
Daneshjoo news reported on Tuesday March 12 that Nabavi, who has been serving his sentence in exile in Ahwaz Prison, was summoned to court last Tuesday but then was not returned to his cell and instead was taken to solitary confinement at the Ministry of Intelligence office.
The report indicates that the Ministry of Intelligence has refused to confirm any information about Nabavi for his family.
Zia Nabavi was arrested in June of 2009 during the mass protests against alleged fraud in the presidential election. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail and 74 lashes, which was reduced to 10 years imprisonment in exile.
Nabavi, a student activist, has not been given any furloughs throughout his 45 months in jail.
While serving his time in Ahwaz, he has advocated for the release of Mohammad Ali Amouri, an Iranian-Arab political prisoner sentenced to death in Ahwaz. The Kaleme opposition website has speculated that Nabavi’s support for Amouri, expressed in a letter sent from prison, may be the reason for the renewed pressure on the student activist.
Mohammad Ali Amouri and four of his colleagues have been sentenced to death, charged with enmity against God and terrorist activities, but human rights groups say they were subjected to severe torture to compel them to make confessions, which they later recanted.
