Increasing pressure on Ali Younesi in Ward 209 of Evin Prison; Reduced phone call permissions to his family
6-February-2022
Category: Prisoners، Students
5-February-2022
Newsgroup: Students – Prisoners –
Breathing in Confinement: The Ministry of Intelligence has increased pressure on Ali Younesi, a detained student at Sharif University, by reducing his phone call permissions from two days a week to once a week.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, the authorities of Ward 209 of Evin Prison as well as the agents of Ministry of Intelligence reduced the permitted phone calls of Ali Younesi to his family from twice a week to once a week. “He used to be able to call his family twice a week,” wrote Mustafa Nili, the student’s lawyer, on his personal page. Mr. Nili, referring to the increased pressure on Ali Younesi wrote: “Ali Younesi’s permitted telephone calls have been reduced from twice a week to once.” Nili added: “The officials of ward 209 said that the reason for this was that Ali spoke in the court about the ward’s conditions as well as being forced to wear blindfolds and being kept in a small cell with two other prisoners convicted of financial and drug charges.”
This is while, nearly two years have passed since the arrest of Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi and their detention in security ward 209 of Evin Prison.
Mustafa Nili had previously said in an interview with Emtedad News Agency about the situation of Ali Younesi in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. He said: “Ali was in Ward 240 for a short time and then was transferred to a security ward. In addition, he was kept all alone for 2 months and then was transferred to the cells shared with 2-3 other prisoners.” “Right now, my client is being held in Ward 209 along with a drug trafficker and a financial corruption suspect.” Nili continued. “He now lives with two other defendants in a cell of 2x 4.5 meters size, and is only allowed to walk in fresh air for 20 minutes three days a week, and is obliged to wear blindfolds which is against the law.”
The first court hearing on the charges against Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, 2 detained students at Sharif University of Technology was held on July 3, 2021, and their second court hearing was held on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.
Ali Younesi, a computer engineering student, and Amir Hossein Moradi, a physics student at Sharif University of Technology, were arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents on April 10, 2020, and transferred to ward 209 of Evin Prison, the Ministry’s detention center. The students are said to have been arrested by plainclothes agents while being beaten and without being presented an arrest warrant.
It is worth mentioning that Amir Hossein Moradi is the winner of the silver medal of the 2017 National Astronomy Olympiad and Ali Younesi is the winner of the silver medal of the 2016 National Astronomy Olympiad as well as the gold medal of the 2017 Astronomy Olympiad. In addition, Ali Younesi has brought honor for Iran by winning a gold medal in the 12th World Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad held in China.