Further Details on the Arrest of Parvin Mokhtare

The Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) – After ten days of no information on Kouhyar Goudarzi and his mother Parvin Mokhtare, there is news from Parivn Mokhtare, who is jailed in the Kerman central prison. She was able to have a visit with her mother and sister yesterday (August 10th).

According to reports, during the short visit, Parvin Mokhtare told her family that, on August 1st, while she was taking a shower she heard the voices of strangers in her home. She had confronted four plainclothes agents who had unexpectedly climbed the house’s wall and entered inside. Even though the conditions were inappropriate, the plainclothes agents asked her to go along with them.

Parvin Mokhtare was arrested without the presentation of a valid arrest warrant from any organization. She was transferred to the women’s ward of the Kerman central prison. In the family visit, Parvin Mokhtare said that she is being held under poor hygienic conditions and with non-political prisoners.

Kouhyar Goudarzi’s mother added that the Kerman security agents had told her Kouhyar is jailed in Evin prison, but this has not yet been confirmed. Attempts by Kouhyar Goudarzi’s family and attorney to find detailed information about his condition have so far proven fruitless.

Parvin Mokhtare, who has no history of political or civil activism, said she has been accused of, “Insulting the Supreme leader”, “Propaganda against the regime”, and “Acting against national security”.

Kouhyar Goudarzi is a banned university student, a journalist, a human rights activist, and member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR).

Earlier, before news about Parvin Mokhtare’s location of detention was published, one of Kouhyar Goudarzi’s relatives, who had tried to obtain information about Kouhyar and his mother, told CHRR, “In recent days we have been searching for them in the Revolutionary Court at Arg Square. [Authorities at the Revolutionary Court] told us they had not ordered Kouhyar’s detention. We visited a few other judicial archive centers, but the [authorities there] did not provide us with any answers [either]. We were not allowed to visit the Attorney General and, finally, we were led to the Shahid Moghaddas court in Evin prison. Unfortunately, the questions we posed to the Evin Attorney General also went unanswered. They asked us if we were certain whether Kouhyar was there, but they did not allow us to enter inside. One of the court agents recommended that we refer to a local police station and declare [Kouhyar and his mother] lost and file an abduction complaint.”

Translation by Davood Eftekhar
Source: Committee of Human Rights Reporters