Arzhang Davoodi, 67, has been in prison for 17 years since 2003 on fabricated charges, such as “insulting Khamenei,” and is in a critical state of health. The regime’s henchmen plan to torture him to death because of his ongoing resistance and perseverance. He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of deprivation of social rights and deportation to prisons in southern Iran and was subsequently transferred to Zabol Prison. As his sentence ended, he was re-filed and sentenced to another five years in prison on charges of supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Arzhang Davoodi has long been kept in solitary confinement in Zabul Prison without the minimum hygienic and living facilities. Due to the inhumane conditions of Zabol prison, he suffers from various diseases, especially intestinal infections. He endures a lot of pain, and his life is in danger. But the authorities refuse to take him to hospitals and medical centers.
He is only allowed one hour a day in the fresh open air. To further harass him, the guards stole the refrigerator and other appliances he had bought with his own money, leaving him without the most basic facilities.
During the past 17 years, Arzhang has been held in various prisons, such as Evin Prison, Ahvaz Detention Center, Bandar Abbas Prison, Gohardasht Prison, Zabol Prison, and Zahedan Prison. In 2007, his house and car were confiscated by government agents. In October 2016, he was deported from Gohardasht Prison to Zabol Prison. He has gone on a hunger strike many times.
The life of this political prisoner is in danger after 17 years of imprisonment and transfer to hot and harsh climate locations. The Iranian Resistance reiterates the need for immediate UN action to secure the release of political prisoners and an international fact-finding mission to visit Iranian prisons and to meet with prisoners, especially political prisoners.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
September 4, 2020
