Kurdish political prisoner Towhid Darvish, who was arrested during last year’s anti-government protests in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, has attempted suicide in recent days to protest against being held in a state of uncertainty in the city prison.
During his suicide attempt, part of his neck was cut with a sharp object. After being transferred to the prison infirmary and receiving medical treatment, he was returned to the prison ward.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Darvish has been tried in Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tabriz on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), but no verdict has yet been issued.
Despite the trial, the political prisoner remains in a state of uncertainty in difficult conditions in Tabriz Central Prison.
After Darvish attempted to cut his neck with a sharp object, fellow inmates intervened to prevent him from self-harming, but not before he suffered significant bleeding around his neck.
He was then taken to the prison infirmary, where he received basic medical treatment before being returned to the ward without hospitalisation.
Darvish, a 27-year-old taxi driver, was arrested in Tabriz on 29 September 2022 after he had transported passengers in his car from the city of Khoy to the city of Tabriz, which was gripped by anti-government protests at the time.
After his arrest, the security forces transferred him to a security detention centre in this city, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture in order to make forced “confessions” regarding his alleged “participation in setting fire to the bank of Sepah”.
After the end of the interrogation period, he was transferred to Tabriz Central Prison.
In early January, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tabriz sentenced Darvish to 10 years in exile in Ahvaz prison on charges of “enmity against God”. He was also ordered to pay 50 billion Iranian rials – nearly 120,000 USD – in damages to a bank.
In mid-March, Branch Nine of Iran’s Supreme Court acquitted Darvish of “enmity against God”, overturning the lower court’s ruling and sending the case back to the court for further investigation.
Darvish is a father of two and comes from the village of Garnavik in Khoy, West Azerbaijan province. Following an earthquake in March 2020, his family settled in the city of Khoy after their village home was destroyed in the quake.
