An Iranian political activist who was granted medical leave from Tehran’s Evin prison last year has been sentenced to 74 lashes for what authorities termed "absence and failure to report to prison," even though he was actually in prison when the case was filed against him.
Hossein Razzagh was arrested in July 2022 in the northern Iranian city of Amol, and was transferred to Evin prison. He was granted several days of medical leave in April 2023 due to health issues but subsequently returned to prison despite medical advice that his health was poor.
Despite his return, the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Court initiated a case against him in absentia, saying there was a "lack of access to the accused." Razzagh was subsequently sentenced to 74 lashes. The court did not explain its decision.
In March, Razzagh's Telegram channel announced that he had lodged complaints against various security and judicial officials for beatings he allegedly received in Evin prison's ward 209, under the jurisdiction of the Intelligence Ministry.
Security personnel in ward 209 reportedly subjected Razzagh to hours of torture following the beatings.
Razzagh was one of the founders of a room on the Clubhouse social-media site called "Freedom Square," which he said was removed from the platform due to pressure and threats from the ministry.
An audio-based social-media application, Clubhouse has become a major platform for dialogue among Iranians, who join virtual chat rooms to hear from analysts, journalists, and dissidents.
Razzagh is one of several political prisoners in Evin prison who have publicly condemned the judiciary for its treatment of prisoners, including the reported "exile" of Saeed Madani, a social researcher and civil activist, to Damavand prison.
Since September 2022, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets to demand more freedoms and women's rights, with the judiciary, backed by lawmakers, responding to the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution with a brutal crackdown.
Several thousand have been arrested, including many protesters, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, digital rights defenders, and others. At least nine protesters have been executed after what rights groups and several Western governments have called "sham" trials.