Hossein Ronaghi Banned From Phone Calls and Under Intense Pressure to Confess

Blogger and human rights activist Hossein Ronaghi Maleki is still held in prison limbo and in under extreme pressure to make false televised confessions.

RAHANA: Hossein Ronaghi Maleki is in his 8^th month of detention and had gone on hunger strike from Thursday, July 15^th through Thursday July 22^nd in order to protest the poor food condition and the harsh conditions of his detention in Ward 2A of IRGC of the Evin Prison.Ronaghi had previously gone on hunger strike for 4 days to protest the harsh conditions of his detention. He has kidney problems and is in great need of medical attention.

His mother, Zoleikha Mousavi, told the RAHANA reporter that they have “came to Tehran to follow up on his case and have been unsuccessful again.” According to her, “Judge Mirabbas presides over the case and he is on vacation for 20 days.”

She added that they have “referred to the Prosecutor’s Office and the prison and have not received any responses from the authorities.”

His mother stated that Hossein has contacted them and told them that “the interrogators have said that he is no longer allowed to call his family or to mention anything about his case to them.”

The judicial authorities have not allowed Ronaghi’s parents to visit him in prison. He has visited his parents only 4 times in the past 8 months.

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki who blogged under the name of Babak Khorramdin, was arrested along with his brother on December 13, 2009 in the city of Malekan, located in Tabriz. He was transferred to the Evin Prison where has been under physical and psychological torture. His brother, who was detained for putting pressure on Hossein, was later released on an 80 million ($80,000) tooman bail. He was physically tortured while in detention.

Ronaghi has been transferred to the solitary confinement unit in the past 2 weeks and is under extreme pressure to make false televised confessions.