“When He Spoke of Being ‘Violated,’ He Was Very Upset And Angry”

Abdolreza Tajik, Journalist and human rights activist, has been in detention since June 12 2010.

Blog/Interview: Last Thursday, the sister of journalist Abdolreza Tajik met with him for the first time after his arrest on June 12. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about the meeting, she said that her brother was very upset and angry when he told her that he had been “violated” in prison. Parvin Tajik told the Campaign that her brother was unable to explain what he meant by “violated” during the meeting which took place through a telephone booth in the presence of prison officials. “I implore the Prosecutor to hear Abdolreza’s cry for justice, and to oblige his request to meet with him and his lawyer in prison to hear him,” said Parvin Tajik. She said that her efforts to follow up on her brother’s case over the past ten days have been fruitless.

Abdolreza Tajik is a journalist who has worked with newspapers such as Fath, Bonyan, Bahar, and Shargh. He was also affiliated with the Center for the Defense of Human Rights. Tajik was detained on 12 June 2010. During a 15 July 2010 visit with his sister, Parvin Tajik, he told her that on the first night of his detention he had been “violated” at Evin Prison in the presence of the Deputy Prosecutor. “My brother requested an immediate meeting with the Tehran Prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, and his lawyer Mohammad Sharif,” said Parvin Tajik.

“In a Saturday, 24 July 2010 letter to Sadegh Larijani, Head of the Iranian Judiciary, we objected to the violation of my brother and asked his review of the situation. We sent a copy of this letter to the Prosecutor’s Office. We didn’t intend to publish this letter, but when nobody replied, we published it,” Tajik continued. According to Parvin Tajik, after the Judiciary refused to receive her letter, she sent the letter through mail.

Regarding the news her brother shared with her and her family member’s deep concern about it, she said: “Since we found out about this, my brothers, myself, and my aunt who has been like a mother to us, are all worried. This is incomprehensible and unbelievable to us, because Abdolreza has very high moral standards.”