Iranian Government Denies Abdollah Momeni Family Visits

- International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, the wife of prisoner of conscience Abdollah Momeni said that she has been repeatedly denied visits to her husband who is imprisoned at Iran’s Evin Prison. “My children and I have not visited Abdollah for a year and a half, not even once,” said Momeni’s wife, Fatemeh Adinehvand. “During this time I have written 15 requests to the Prosecutor for an in-person visit but I have not received a single response yet,” she said.

Abdollah Momeni is a senior spokesperson for the student alumni group Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat. He was arrested on June 20, 2009, after the disputed presidential election in Iran. Momeni and the student alumni group had supported the opposition presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi in the election. Momeni was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months and is now being held in Evin Prison, Ward 350. After he had been imprisoned for over a year, he wrote a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei detailing his torture by interrogators in prison.

After writing the letter to Khamenei, Momeni was deprived of family visits and furlough. His wife Fatemeh Adinehvand said she told the judicial officials, “My children and I are only allowed to visit him from behind a window, and that’s hard for his teenage children. Is this fair or lawful?” Regarding concerns for Momeni’s health, his wife told the Campaign, “Fortunately, his teeth were treated but he has complained to me about kidney problems and I think it is common among Evin prisoners as most of them have it.”

Fatemeh Adinehvand said that she did not know why Momeni was denied family visits and leave. She stated, “I have spoken to the officials several times about his leave and I was indirectly told that there would be no leave, I don’t know the reason. I still hope that they will grant some days’ furlough for him to spend with his family. If they don’t approve of his leave, they should at least give us permission to visit in person. Once a month visits with family is every prisoner’s right.”