Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Baghi Family’s Report about His Latest Condition
After fourteen days of no news and extreme concern about Emadeddin Baghi’s condition, on Wednesday 26 December he was able to contact his family through a short phone call. He announced that he had been hospitalized in the Qamar Bani Hashem hospital in Tehran and his physical condition was better than in the morning of that day. Then, on the morning of Thursday, December 27th, with the help of security officials, Baghi’s family was able to meet with him, seeing that although he had become extremely thin and weak with God’s grace danger to his health had passed. He gave his family a detailed report of what had happened on Wednesday that is being recounted here for public knowledge:
At 8:00 a.m. of Wednesday, December 26 Mr. Baghi, while taking a shower in his small cell, experiences a nerve attack that manifested itself in the trembling of his hands and feet and fainting. With the help of his only cell mate he gradually regains consciousness but because of deteriorating physical conditions calls upon the staff in prison’s health center for help. Health center staff immediately tried to stabilize his blood pressure with a pill and sweetened water and attempted to take care of the burning sensation on his face and the paralysis condition that had overtaken parts of his feet and hands as Mr. Baghi was not able to bend his fingers. The health staff massaged his hands and feet and then attempted to take him with a wheelchair to the health center in order to stabilize his breathing through injection and giving him oxygen.
At this time, as was announced before, Mr. Saleh Nikbakht, Baghi’s lawyer, was waiting to see to him but because of Baghi’s critical condition the meeting was not possible and Nikhbakht was told that Mr. Baghi was being interrogated. However, with the relative improvement of his condition Mr. Baghi contacted his family and while speaking in a halting manner he informed his family about how he was saved from danger and requested Mr. Nikbakht’s return to prison. But in the span of time Mr. Nikhbakht returned to prison and was again told that Mr. Baghi was being interrogated again, Mr. Baghi had a second attack with severe trembling that now involved teeth clenching and locked hands. Heart tests also showed an undesirable condition. Symptoms of the second attack were nausea, dizziness, trembling of the whole body and locking of hands to the point that Mr. Baghi was unable to write a sentence. He had asked his cellmate for pen and paper in order to write his will but he was unable to hold on to the pen. At this time, according to Mr. Baghi, an ambulance was called and he was sent to Qamar Bani Hashem hospital. Until 10:00 p.m. he was held in the critical care unit and then moved to the relevant section as two agents of the Ministry of Intelligence joined the team of physicians. The physician in charge said that what happened to Mr. Baghi were panic attacks and because of the special physical and mental conditions of Mr. Baghi were extremely dangerous. Had the health officials in the Ward 209 of Evin prison not moved quickly, the second attack could have been disastrous.
When asked by the physicians and Intelligence Ministry agents about factors that impacted his condition, Mr. Baghi, along with a list of many problems, identified three main issues:
First factor: Mr. Baghi’s sensitivity to what happens in prison including the commotion he heard around 2:00 a.m in one of the nights in the cell next door, suggesting that a student had attempted to commit suicide and was only saved with the presence of an Intelligence Ministry agent. Hearing about the situation of the student who had claimed that he had been physically confronted twice made Mr. Baghi extremely upset. Hearing about the situation of other students also placed him under tremendous psychological strain which he relayed to prison officials.
Second factor: Along with fact that Mr. Baghi considers his imprisonment illegal, he also deems the conditions under which he is held as illegal. Mr. Baghi asked the Intelligence Ministry agents the reasons for being held in a separate ward if he has been sentenced to one year imprisonment for the articles he published ten years ago for which he received and served a four year sentence in 2003. He also pointed out that in the court in which the sentence was issues no one but Baghi and the judge, not even Baghi’s lawyer, was present. This is why he objected to the court procedures, relying on Article 129 of the criminal code, by remaining silent. On this basis, the decision rendered is without legal merit since according to the guidelines issued by the Expediency Council the legal process without a lawyer’s presence is not legal. Baghi also referred to the fact that a bail was set for 50 million toumans in relation to this one year sentence, nullifying the case for temporary detention. Assuming that he is spending his one year prison sentence, why should he be detained in a separate security prison? Why should he be kept illegally without a ruling for 21/2 months? This is while according to Article 574 of the Islamic penal code, those who engage in such violations against the accused must face 2 months to 2 years of detention or loss of employment. Baghi said that he had told the details of the violations involved to the assistant prosecutor and he had complained to the person in charge of Ward 209 about Mr. Baghi’s detention in that ward. The person in charge of prison had said that Mr. Baghi “is in our custody” while no where in law there such a thing as a “prisoner in custody.” This is why the assistant prosecutor announced that he will have a discussion with the interrogator of the special security branch and will begin the process of trying to get Baghi out of the separate detention center. But until Wednesday nothing had happened and this state of not knowing had impacted Mr. Baghi’s health.
Third Factor: throughout the 76 days of detention, every few days new individuals are placed in Mr. Baghi’s cell, apparently so that his closed cell would not be considered solitary. These individuals who are placed in Mr. Baghi’s cell in a limited and haphazard manner are typically anxious and weep and grieve much. Given Mr. Baghi’s sensitivity to the issues and rights of prisoners, he is bound to empathize and try to console them. Mr. Baghi’s psychological state is upset by the fact that he cannot do anything for them and arrested students. The physicians in the hospital have also referred to these stressful issues and, given the threat of recurrent attacks, have advised the ceasing or at least reduction of sources of stress.
Representatives of the Intelligence Ministry, after listening carefully to the physicians’ and Baghi’s reasons, promised to change the situation not only regarding Baghi’s incarceration in a separate prison but also regarding cases such as the suicide of the student and the situation of other students.
While Mr Baghi expressed his satisfaction with the way the prison health officials had fulfilled their legal obligations, he criticized the way his family was left concerned and without news for a night and half a day.
Baghi’s family also criticized the way the news about his situation was passed along. They saw the real harm in causing concern for the family and public opinion. After meeting or talking on the phone to Baghi directly, they pointed out that by keeping the news hidden initially all sorts of doubts were raised for the family regarding whether the health problem occurred during interrogations or under normal conditions.
Although Baghi’s family delivered him to prison healthy and now see him as thin and weak with at least two physical attacks, if they had been correctly informed about his condition they could have aided in detailed and correct relaying of information. At the same time, given Mr. Baghi’s physical condition and the words of physicians trusted by officials who have warned of the possibility of a repeat attack, which this time around may be more dangerous, and said that he should be kept away from stress and physical and psychological limitations, and given the promise by the representatives of those in charge regarding respect for Baghi’s right, his family hopes that conditions are prepared for his release so he can take care of his health in an atmosphere without stress.
Of course, according to the latest information of which the family was apprised while writing this statement, Mr. Baghi was returned to prison at sundown on Thursday and was transferred to the General Ward 350. We hope that this transfer paves the way for respect of Mr. Baghi’s rights and his release.
Emadeddin Baghi’s Family
Jailed Iran journalist hospitalised
A prominent Iranian pro-reform journalist and rights activist who was jailed two months ago has been taken to hospital, an Iranian news agency said.
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
"His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran's hospitals," the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners' Rights, was on October 14 sent to Tehran's Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz said at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary's poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme.
The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities.
He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process.
Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses
Source: Reuters
Jailed Iranian rights activist hospitalised: report
"He has been receiving medical care since Wednesday afternoon when he was taken to a Tehran private hospital," lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told AFP.
"He collapsed twice in his cell in Wednesday morning... his doctor told me the attacks were caused by high nervous pressure," he said, adding that Baghi's condition was now normal.
Baghi has been in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since his arrest on October 12, when he was ordered to serve an outstanding one-year jail term for creating propaganda against the system.
Nikbakht said that according to his latest information, Baghi was still in hospital and had been allowed to meet his family there. He added his client was satisfied with speed of the reaction by the Evin authorities to his collapse.
"Baghi's general state was not good and he was transferred to one of Tehran's hospitals," the director general of Tehran province prisons, Sohrab Soleimani, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency late on Wednesday.
Baghi, who heads the Committee for the Defence of Prisoners' Rights, has already served several jail terms in Iran while also receiving awards from Western countries for his work.
According to the charges, Baghi obtained secret information from prisoners and then disseminated this information during seminars organised by his group.
He has publicly protested against the wave of hangings, many in public, that have swept Iran in recent months as part of a campaign the authorities say is aimed at improving security in society.
In September Baghi wrote an open letter to the heads of reformist parties -- including former president Mohammad Khatami and ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi -- complaining of their silence over the increase in hangings.
In 2005 he was awarded a top human rights prize by France for his work campaigning against the death penalty. New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the US State Department have both called for his release.
Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, serious drug trafficking and adultery. The Islamic republic is currently believed to be the second most prolific applier of the death penalty worldwide after China.
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Human Rights Defender: Emadeddin Baghi
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Human Rights Defender: Emadeddin Baghi
In 2000, he had been sentenced to a three-year jail term for writings “against the regime”. He served a two year sentence then for his works on the series of murders involving Iranian intellectuals, and was detained again this October, for another year (from his last sentence) for continuing his activities, which were spreading, “propaganda against the system” and “publishing secret government documents” .
State repression has manifested itself in various forms and extended to include his family.
After being released in 2003, he has been summoned to court 23 times. His wife, Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi and daughter, Maryam Baghi, were given three-year suspended prison sentences and five years of probation for participating in human rights workshops in Dubai in 2004.
The man is also an active campaigner for the past few years, against the death penalty, especially of those languishing in Iranian prison. He formed the Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, in 2003 and the Society of Right to Life Guardians in 2005 to tackle these issues. On the death penalty, he wrote to the authorities in 2006, including ex president, Mohammad Khatami, on the increased number of executions. By October 2007, Iran is officially reported to have carried out no less than 207 executions this year alone, a figure higher than 2006. Baghi has also voiced criticisms against “stoning” as a form of punishment for adultery in Iran.
As an intellectual, he has written 20 books, of which six has been banned in the country. The first book, “A Study About the Clerics” which called for a more open Islam that should be subjected to individual, rather than clerical interpretation was banned. “Realities and Judgments” which described the violent suppression of opposition in Iran, was published illegally and anonymously in 1991, and extensively destroyed by the government upon release. He is also a journalist, writing on mostly social and political issues for various newspapers and magazines since 1983.
As a recipient of the 2004 Civil Courage Prize, awarded by the Train Foundation, he was prevented from leaving the country to receive the award. The next year, he was given the French Human Rights Prize for his work against the death penalty. Human rights organisations, Reporters Without Borders; Human Rights Watch; and Amnesty International have all condemned his imprisonment as being politically motivated and measures to curb freedom of speech in Iran.
Emadeddin Baghi, considered one of Iran’s leading dissident, has also voiced criticisms against the US for funding “democracy promotion” activities in Iran, as it gives the government a cover to clamp down on human rights activism in the country.
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References:
1. Jailed Iran rights activist in hospital, AP, 27 December 2007
2. Emadeddin Baghi, Wikipedia, extracted on 28 December 2007
3. Iran: Release Leading Defender of Prisoners’ Rights; Emadeddin Baghi Jailed Under Politically Motivated Charges, Human Rights Watch, 16 October, 2007
4. Prisoners’ Rights Activist Arrested and Detained, WorldPress.org, Niusha Boghrati, 16 October, 2007
5. Prominent Iranian Human Rights Defender Emaddedin Baghi Detained, Amnesty International USA, extracted on 28 December 2007
His writings:
1. Iran’s new era: nine lessons for reformers, OpenDemocracy, Emadeddin Baghi, 2 August 2005
2. Hope for Democracy in Iran, Washington Post, 25 October 25, 2004
3. More of his writings in English can also be found at Emadbaghi.com
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Jailed Iran Rights Activist in Hospital
Emadeddin Baghi passed out while taking a shower in prison and initially no one knew to which hospital he had been sent, his lawyer Saleh Nikbakhat told The Associated Press.
"Mr. Baghi was transferred to a local hospital after he complained about his health during a phone call from prison to his wife on Wednesday," he said.
"Doctors in hospital said he nearly broke down twice on Wednesday," Nikbakhat added. "They believe nervous pressure on Baghi led to the illness."
Nikbakhat, who visited Baghi in the hospital Thursday, said he was feeling better and will be back in prison by Friday.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. Authorities said that due to his ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but he only served two years of the term.
Authorities have accused Baghi, who campaigns for the humane treatment of prisoners, of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
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Media advocacy group RSF worried about health of jailed Iranian activist
Reporters Without Borders said journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi was taken to hospital Wednesday, after suffering a "double heart attack" in the Evin prison in Tehran, where he has been held for the past 74 days.
He was taken back to a new wing cell of Evin on Thursday evening, the press freedom organization, known by its French initials RSF, said in a statement made available to The Associated Press.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. He is an active campaigner for prisoners' rights and against Iran's death penalty. In 2005, he was awarded the French government's human rights prize, RSF said.
Iranian authorities have said that due to Baghi's ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended. They accuse him of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
"The conditions in which Baghi is being held are unacceptable," the RSF statement said. "He has been in solitary confinement ever since he was first taken to Evin, as if imprisonment was not already enough punishment. As his state of health has worsened steadily during the past two months, it is inconceivable that he should be expected to convalesce in prison."
Baghi's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakhat, said his client was rushed to hospital after collapsing in a prison shower Wednesday. RSF said Nikbakhat had told them Baghi's deteriorating health was mainly due to appalling prison conditions and harassment he has been subjected to during interrogations.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but only served two years of the term.
Iran recently released three Iranian-Americans after they spent about four months in Evin, a notorious prison on the northern outskirts of Tehran, on accusations of trying to stir up a revolution in the Islamic Republic.
A fourth Iranian-American also was allowed to leave the country after authorities confiscated her passport earlier this year. All four were charged with endangering national security — allegations they and their employers denied.
Human rights groups also have accused Iran of committing abuses against prisoners at Evin — a charge the government denies.
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Jailed Iran journalist hospitalised
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
“His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran’s hospitals,” the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners’ Rights, was on October 14 sent to Tehran’s Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz said at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary’s poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme.
The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities.
He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process.
Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses.
- Reuters
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Jailed Iranian Journalist Taken to Hospital-Report
A prominent Iranian pro-reform journalist and rights activist who was jailed two months ago has been taken to hospital, an Iranian news agency said on Wednesday.
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
"His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran's hospitals," the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners' Rights, was on Oct. 14 sent to Tehran's Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz told Reuters at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary's poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme. The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities. He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process. Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses.
Link
Jailed Iran Rights Activist in Hospital
Emadeddin Baghi passed out while taking a shower in prison and initially no one knew to which hospital he had been sent, his lawyer Saleh Nikbakhat said to The Associated Press.
"Mr. Baghi was transferred to a local hospital after he complained about his health during a phone call from prison to his wife on Wednesday," he said.
"Doctors in hospital said he nearly broke down twice on Wednesday," Nikbakhat added. "They believe nervous pressure on Baghi led to the illness."
According to his lawyer, who visited him in the hospital Thursday, Baghi is feeling better and will be back prison by Friday.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. Authorities said that due to his ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but he only served two years of the term.
Authorities have accused Baghi, who campaigns for the humane treatment of prisoners, of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
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Dangerously Ill Iranian Human Rights Defender Must be Released
For Immediate Release: December 28, 2007
Krista Minteer (212) 845-5207
New York - Emadeddin Baghi, a leading Iranian human rights activist and journalist suffered an apparent heart attack on December 26 while being held in pre-trial detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison. He was moved to hospital, but the authorities returned him to prison the following day, where his health is at serious risk. Human Rights First is calling on the Iranian government to release Baghi immediately and unconditionally so that he can receive necessary medical care and resume his vital, legitimate work for human rights.
“Baghi has committed no crime and his continuing imprisonment, which threatens his life, is an outrage,” said Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director of Human Rights First.
Emadeddin Baghi was detained in October 2007 on charges of “endangering national security,” which relate to his activities as the head of a human rights organization, the Association to Protect Prisoners, that has documented cases of torture and abuse of prisoners in Iran and campaigned for reforms. He was previously arrested in 2003 and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on similar charges for reporting on official involvement in the murders of opposition figures in the 1990s. He was released after two years, with the third year suspended.
Since his most recent detention, he has been held in solitary confinement in poor conditions, and according to his lawyer, subjected to harsh interrogation. These conditions have apparently contributed to the serious deterioration in his health. Baghi is 45 years old.
Baghi is the recipient of many international human rights awards including the 2004 Civil Courage Prize and the 2005 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
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