Blogger and activist re-arrested in Iran

Amnesty International :
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki and Navid Khanjani were re-arrested on 22 August 2012 after security forces reportedly attacked a relief camp for earthquake victims in the East Azerbaijan province. Both men are being held in an unknown location.
On 22 August 2012 police and plain-clothed security forces reportedly attacked a relief camp offering supplies for earthquake victims and arrested blogger, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki and human rights activist, Navid Khanjani, along with dozens of other volunteer relief workers and activists. After the arrests, the security forces shut down the camp. According to reports, the arrests happened at 11pm and the detainees were blindfolded and taken to the Tabriz Ministry of Intelligence facility for questioning.
On 24 August, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki was transferred from the Ministry of Intelligence facility to Section 1 of Tabriz Prison. He has been charged with “distributing unclean and non-hygienic goods" and is reported to have been tortured during questioning. He was reportedly beaten so severely in the kidney area that the wound from a recent surgery haemorrhaged. Despite this, he has been refused medical care and has not been allowed to take his medicine. There is great concern that Hossein Ronaghi Maleki’s physical health is now rapidly deteriorating.
Navid Khanjani had been awaiting a summons to start serving a 12-year sentence after an unfair trial, when he was also arrested at the relief camp. He was also transferred to Section 1 of Tabriz Prison and charged with 'distributing unclean and non-hygienic goods."
Although most of those arrested have now been released, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki and Navid Khanjani are among those still detained and have both been on a dry hunger strike since 25 August in protest against their arrest and detention. On the afternoon of 25 August both men were taken by Ministry of Intelligence security officers from Tabriz Prison to an unknown location and have not been heard from since…
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Authorities in Iran have stressed that aid must be handed to officials responsible for the distribution of relief supplies in the areas affected by the East Azerbaijan earthquakes. However, many volunteers from Tehran and other cities have taken to coordinating their own relief efforts for the victims of the earthquakes because of a lack of trust in the way Iranian authorities have handled relief operations.
After their arrest, all the detainees went on a dry hunger strike and sent an open letter addressed to the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, stressing that their presence in the East Azerbaijan province was solely to provide and distribute relief supplies to earthquake victims.
Prior to his recent arrest on 22 August 2012, Hossein Ronaghi Maleki had been released on 2 July after payment of bail of 10 billion Rials (approximately US $815, 000). He had been sentenced to 15 years in prison after an unfair trial in 2010 on charges including “membership of the [illegal] internet group ‘Iran Proxy’ ”, “spreading propaganda against the system ”and “insulting the Leader and the President ”, apparently in connection with articles he posted on his blog, 14 Tir. He returned to his blog on 5 July, 2012, and wrote, “After 32 months of not writing on my blog, I have come today… pen in hand and write to say that I am feeling well because my mother’s face is fresh [with happiness] and she does not cry."
Before his arrest on 22 August 2012, Navid Khanjani was at liberty awaiting a summons to start serving a 12-year prison sentence. He was a member of both the Committee for Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) and the Association to Oppose Discrimination in Education (AODE) and was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment on 31 January 2011. His sentence was upheld on appeal and confirmed by Branch 54 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 10 August 2011. His lawyer was only informed 14 days later.
Navid Khanjani had been arrested in Esfahan on 2 March 2010. He faced an unfair trial on 20 December 2010 in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was apparently sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in connection with his work with the AODE; and five for his work with the CHRR. An additional three years were said to have been handed down for “creating unease in the public mind”, and “propaganda against the system”. Navid Khanjani was eventually sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after the court supposedly applied 'Islamic mercy.'
Torture and other ill-treatment is common in Iran, particularly during interrogation when detainees are routinely denied access to a lawyer and are often held incommunicado.

دستگیری مجدد بلاگر و فعال (حقوق‌بشر) در ایران
روز 22 اوت سال 2012 بعد از حمله نیروهای امنیتی به یک کمپ امداد برای قربانیان زمین‌لرزه استان آذربایجان شرقی، حسین رونقی ملکی و نوید خانجانی (Khanjani ) مجدداً دستگیر شدند.
طبق گزارشات روز 22 اوت لباس‌ شخصی‌های نیروهای امنیتی به کمپی که به قربانیان زمین‌لرزه کمک می‌رساند حمله کرده و حسین رونقی ملکی، بلاگر و نوید خانجانی، فعال حقوق‌بشر را به همراه دهها تن دیگر از کارمندان کمک‌رسانی و فعالان داوطلب را دستگیر کردند. (در اين خبر همچنين به شكنجه رونقي اشاره شده است و اينكه جاي عمل كليه اش خونريزي كرده است.) (سایت عفو بین‌الملل- 9/6/1391)

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