Kurdish political prisoner Zeynab Jalalian who was abruptly transferred from Kermanshah Prison to Yazd Prison on November 10, for no apparent reason, is still being held in quarantine without the right to call or visit her family.
A relative of Jalalian has told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) that “since Ms Jalalian was transferred to Yazd prison, she has only managed to make a short phone call to her family once, during which she has informed her family of the news that Yazd Security officer has threatened her to be temporarily deprived of all her rights as a prisoner unless she declared remorse and cooperated with security investigators.”
“Recently, Ali Jalalian, Zeynab’s father was arrested by Mako intelligence agents after several interviews with the media and human rights organizations. Despite his age and poor health condition, he went through an overnight interrogation at the intelligence office, where he was threatened before being released on bail.” the Source said.
The source added that a team of intelligence interrogators who had visited Zeynab Jalalian in Qarchak prison in late June under the name of “Human Rights Lawyers” had informed her that the deportation and pressure will continue until she cooperates with the intelligence interrogators and expresses remorse. One of the security guards, who introduced himself as “Sirvan Rahimi” from Sanandaj, gave Zeinab his contact number so that she could contact him if she decided to cooperate with him.
“This is the fourth time in the last six months that Zeynab Jalalian has been transferred to a different prison. Jalalian is being re-transferred despite her poor physical condition due to contracting Coronavirus and lack of medical care in prison. The political prisoner, who suffers from diseases due to her long imprisonment and harsh prison conditions, has also developed asthma after her recent illness in Qarchak prison.
Zeynab Jalalian, 38 years old from Maku, was arrested in summer 2008 in Kermanshah. After spending several months in solitary confinement and enduring severe physical and mental torture, she was sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of “acting against national security” and “Moharebeh” through membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). Her death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in 2011 by the Court of Appeal and Zeynab was later transferred to Khoy Prison in West Azerbaijan Province. She has suffered from several illnesses during her imprisonment.
In 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an official request to the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Zeynab Jalalian immediately and take all necessary measures to compensate her without delay in accordance with the international regulations. In a statement issued by the International Working Group, Zeynab Jalalian’s deprivation of liberty was described as an arbitrary measure contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Iran is obliged to prosecute those officials responsible for violating the rights of the Kurdish political activist.
