Authorities Belittle Mother’s Request for Daughter’s Release

Imprisoned journalist Nazanin Khosravani was allowed to contact her family from Evin prison for the first time since being arrested. Khosravani contacted her mother, Aazam Afsharian, and asked her to look for a guardian for her release (in lieu of bail). Afsharian told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that when she went to Evin Prison Court this morning to introduce the guardian, she was told that a guardian wouldn’t be necessary and that she will be contacted by authorities when needed.

Afsharian pointed out that Khosravani had called home for the first time on Monday afternoon. “In a short conversation we had, Nazanin announced that she was being held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. I asked her whether she was taking her heart medication, and she said, ‘yes,  they give me my pills.’ Then she said that the authorities have told her to look for a guardian, and the line went dead.  After the phone disconnected, I called Nazanin’s lawyer who said asking for a guardian is a good sign. So, we were happy and immediately found a guardian for Nazanin,” she told the Campaign.

“But when I went to Evin Prison Court this morning to provide the guardian’s information, I was not even allowed to enter.  When I said that I would like to name a guardian for Nazanin, they laughed and said, ‘go on, we’ll contact you ourselves whenever it’s necessary,'” the journalist’s mother added.

Afsharian described the circumstances of Khosravani’s phone call: “On Sunday, when I went to Evin prison to inquire about her whereabouts, I got to meet the Tehran Prosecutor. He told me to go home and wait for my daughter’s call, but Nazanin didn’t call till night time, and I went to the court again on Monday morning, trying to see the Prosecutor. They said he was not in his office. I wrote a letter to him, saying that I did go back home in accordance with his promises, but that my daughter had not yet called. It was 3:30 in the afternoon when Nazanin called for the first time.”

Nazanin Khosrowvani, a journalist with reformist newspapers such as Norooz, Kargozaran, Sarmayeh, and Jomhooriyat, was arrested at her home by security forces. She had not worked for any newspapers since after the June 2009 presidential election. The journalist’s mother expressed hope that this “misunderstanding” would be cleared up soon and that her daughter is released.