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Who is Arzhang Davoudi?
He is the director of a school, a teacher, and a self-identified secular. His hunger strike continues in Rajai Shahr prison after two months.
Arzhang Davoudi: “Iran never dies. Long live freedom. Viva democracy. Freedom lovers of the world unite. Democracy should prevail. Democracy should and will flourish the globe.”
LATEST UPDATE ON ARZHANG DAVOUDI
September 15, 2010: Arzhang Davoudi has entered his 64th day of hunger strike. His health is severely critical. It is reported that the risk of death for this educator is high.
Arzhang Davoudi is hardly able to speak or open his eyes. He was transferred to the clinic at Rajai Shahr prison on September 14, 2010. He was also transferred on numerous other occasions, but each time, he was not provided with proper medical care.
Despite Arzhang Davoudi’s extremely severe condition, at the clinic he was placed under pressure to sign a form which would assign him all responsibilities for the consequences of his hunger strike. He refused to sign the form while insisting to continue his hunger strike until all his demands are met.
On the morning of September 9th, Arzhang Davoudi was able to meet with his wife Nazanin Davoudi. One prison official [first] extensively searched Nazanin Davoudi using various scanning devices.
Arzhang Davoudi was brought into the visitation room in a wheelchair. His appearance was pale and thin. He is reported to be extremely weak and experiencing blurred vision. Azrhand Davoudi announced to his wife that he will continue his hunger strike until all his demands are met.
Arzhang Davoudi’s house was confiscated and sold based on an order by judge Haddad. Recently Nazanin Davoudi was interviewed by Radio Farda regarding the situation. She said, “Our house was both residential and also used as a school. The school’s name is Parto-e Hekmat Cultural Education Center [located in Tehran]. Many students studied there [and Arzhang Davoudi is the director of the school]. Our home was sealed off and parts of it were dug out for investigation purposes. At first we were told that our home would only be sealed off for a few days, but they sealed off the house for three years, and then we were told that, unfortunately, they sold our home. Whenever we inquire about the reasons why [our house was sold], we receive no response.”
Arzhang Davoudi was arrested in October 2002 on charges of “acting against national security” and “writing a secular manifesto for Iran.” He has been imprisoned ever since.
[Thanks to Tour Irani for translation]
NEW PETITION FOR ARZHANG DAVOUDI. YOUR SIGNATURE IS NEEDED!
On September 1, 2010, Arzhang Davoudi wrote a letter of grievances to Karaj’s Attorney General about the head of Rajai Shahr prison Ali Hajkazem. The English translation of the letter is below:
The reasons behind the grievance of political prisoner Arzhang Davoudi against Ali Hajkazem, the head of the medieval Rajai Shahr prison
Translation by Siavosh Jalili for P2E
In the Name of God,
Dear Mr. Farhadi, Karaj’s Attorney General,
My last two letters of grievances and gravamina against director of Rajai Shahr prison Ali Hajkazem-copies of which are attached- were submitted to your office by my wife [Nazanin Davoudi] on February 20, 2010 and April 28, 2010 respectively. The letters were unfortunately shelved despite clear and explicit orders from the Attorney General and subsequent preliminary interrogations conducted by Mr. Mousavi, the magistrate supervising Karaj prisons. I would like to insist on the grievances I projected and once again emphasize on the points written in those letters.
That is why I present you the following points written in my own handwriting and signed by me so that legal procedures can follow:
Conscious and intentional participation of Ali Hajkazem in pillaging and robbing me and my family through:
1- The illegal transfer of me to Rajai Shahr prison on April 27, 2008 based on a fake letter from branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court which lacked any signature or official stamp. This branch had no jurisdiction over my case, because my case (number T/86/8983) was being dealt with in branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, headed by judge Salavati.
2-Imposing various immoral and illegal restrictions such as banning phone contacts to home, preventing family visits, and even forbidding the use of the prison’s library in spite of the fact that Ali Hajkazem was notified by Mr. Shahrokhi, the head of Prison Inspection, of the explicit order from higher authorities conceding such rights.
3-Attempts to make up frivolous legal cases against me and attempts to take advantage of the religious sentiments of the guards and prisoners in the month of Muharram to impassion them against and provoke them to kill me.
4-Prevention of dispatching any of my correspondences with the Judiciary and legal officials; in other words arbitrary confiscation of my letters. It must be noted that all the restrictions imposed still continue to this day after two years and four months. All the points made in this gravamen as well as previous grievances has been made possible by the assistance of the director’s assistants like Messrs. Alimohammadi, Azhir, Gerami, Saeedi (Head of section 6), etc.
5- Harassment of the family by first allowing a visit then preventing the visit once the family arrived from Tehran to Rajai Shahr, even when the family went through all the legal and inspection procedures. The family was brought to tears as a result. The last such incident took place on July 26, 2010 and under the pretext of my hunger strike. I was on my 16th day of hunger strike then. A written request for a visit was agreed to when I was on my 12th day of hunger strike.
6- Extreme lack of attention to my 52nd day of hunger strike-to which the director general of Tehran’s prisons can testify-and an explicit order by Hajkazem not to provide medical services to me. I have gone on hunger strike for two legal and minimal rights:
i) Use of the ward’s phone, like the other prisoners, without discrimination.
ii) Investigation and legal pursue of my grievances against Ali Hajkazem, the director of the prison.
7-Preventing the receiving of a radio despite written consent from the officials in charge, and notifying the family at the prison gates when the radio was already bought. The radio was destroyed under the pretext of inspecting it. The family bought and carried a new radio which has been unjustifiably confiscated for the past two years. This is while various services including radio are provided to common and servile prisoners.
8-Mismanagement of the prison and ineptitude in stopping traffic of narcotics and psychotropic pills into the prison. The smuggling has turned into a lucrative business of $2,000,000 per month. The profit is transferred out of prison (money laundering).
i) Each gram of crack costs USD $70 while the price per gram outside the prison is about USD $8.
ii) Each psychotropic pill costs about ¢o.50 inside the prison while the cost per pill outside the prison is at most ¢o.10.
iii) Taking bribes in return for granting legitimate and illegitimate vacation time to prisoners. There are very strong rumours that the bodies of dead prisoners are autopsied under medical pretexts and their body members and organs are sold without the consent of the deceased or their families. The families are not even informed that such acts have taken place. In this regard, some of the prison officials, including the prison director, have been questioned.
I hope that the director of Rajai Shahr prison Ali Hajkazem is examined carefully by psychologists and psychiatrists to determine whether he, in addition to physical problems such as limping and encephalitis, is also suffering from acute emotional and psychological disorders such as sadism.
I would request that given the previous grievances and my insistence on the points referred to above are investigated as soon as possible, and any delay in this regard be avoided.
Respectfully,
Arzhang Davoudi
Teacher, poet, writer, political prisoner
Rajai Shar prison-Ward 3, Hall 8
September 1, 2010
VIDEO | Previous Message by Arzhang Davoudi from Evin Prison:
“In the name of humanity, in the name of love, in the name of rationality, in the name of freedom, and in the name of morals…I urge all freedom lovers, all democracy seekers, all those who really care about others, and all those who devotedly believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to do what you can for Iranians on their path to modernity, especially for Iranian social and political prisoners…”
