Free Reza Salmanzadeh, a Grieving Father
165
Signatures
500
Goal
June 5, 2022
Reza Salmanzadeh is a father seeking justice. He has been imprisoned for demanding justice for his son. He is now facing severe health issues due to multiple illnesses, deteriorating physical and mental condition, and lack of medical care, putting his life at risk.
Background
Reza Salmanzadeh's son, Mehdi Salmanzadeh, was brutally murdered at the age of 14 in their home for participating in the November 2019 protests in Iran. Mehdi, a freedom-loving teenager, had joined his father in the demonstrations. After the suppression and killing of protesters by the agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mehdi was identified by security forces due to his online activism. When he was home alone on December 28, 2019, in Islamshahr, Tehran Province, he was strangled with a cable, and then his death was staged as a suicide by tying a sheet around his neck. Officers from the Forensics Unit acknowledged in their report that a staging had taken place: Mehdi was first strangled with a cable and then hanged while naked. (For more details on Mehdi Salmanzadeh's murder and the judiciary's obstruction in pursuing this case, refer to the report by the Boroumand Foundation here.)
Family Tragedy
The Salmanzadeh family has not found peace since their son's murder. According to Mehdi's brother, his grieving mother has been hospitalized in a care facility for the past five years and is on various psychiatric medications. Reza Salmanzadeh tried to pursue his son's murder case legally. Evidence such as signs of physical struggle at home, cable marks on the victim's neck, blood drops, and CCTV footage showing a suspicious man leaving the house after the time of the murder, should have been considered by the court. However, to prevent the murder from being exposed, the court issued a non-prosecution order to close the case.
A Father Seeking Justice
Reza Salmanzadeh did not give up on seeking justice for his son's blood. He joined the families seeking justice for the November 2019 victims to collectively raise awareness, give media interviews, and attend memorial ceremonies to demand justice for all the lost children. This made him a target for the authorities. In May 2022, Ministry of Intelligence agents arrested him at his home and took him to Evin Prison. He was initially held in solitary confinement for 55 days before being transferred to the general ward 4. On the day of the Evin Prison fire, agents beat him, broke his right hand, and kept him in solitary confinement for another 77 days.
Following this incident, intelligence agents transferred Mr. Salmanzadeh to Rajai Shahr Prison. After some time, he was returned to ward 8 of Evin Prison and then exiled to Ghezel-Hesar Prison. In June 2022, in a swift and sham trial, Mr. Salmanzadeh was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 74 lashes on fabricated charges of "resisting arrest, disrupting public order, and property damage."
According to his son, Mr. Salmanzadeh has suffered numerous illnesses during his imprisonment, including injuries from the Evin fire, hernia, cervical arthritis, kidney stones, and most recently, prostate cancer and a mild stroke. To date, prison officials have denied him medical leave and treatment.
We, the undersigned, call on the judiciary of the Islamic Republic to overturn the unjust sentence of Reza Salmanzadeh, who is now critically ill, and allow him to return to his grieving and traumatized family.
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Province Number of signatures Alborz 1 Ardabil 1 Bushehr 0 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 0 East Azerbaijan 0 Fars 1 Gilan 0 Golestan 0 Hamadan 0 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 1 Kerman 0 Kermanshah 0 Khuzestan 1 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 0 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 0 North Khorasan 0 Qazvin 0 Qom 0 Razavi Khorasan 1 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 0 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 9 West Azerbaijan 0 Yazd 0 Zanjan 0 This petition has received 165 signatures so far. Approximately 70% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 30% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
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رضا سلمانزاده را تنها به جرم دادخواهی پسرش محکوم کردهاند. او جرمی مرتکب نشده است و باید آزاد شود.
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Mahshid Nazemi started this petition
