Three jailed political activists who were imprisoned in the Iranian city of Mashhad after signing an open letter calling on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to resign have been denied phone calls.
Authorities in Vakilbad Prison have told Kamal Jafari and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri that they are not allowed to make phone calls for three months begining from March 31.
The warden has imposed the ban to prevent information from leaking outside the prison by these prisoners.
Meanwhile, authorities restricted and monitored phone calls of Iranian dissident Hashem Khastar who was jailed last year for 16 years.
The political prisoner is not allowed to make phone calls on holidays when the control officer is not present, and on other days, his calls are monitored.
The regime’s judicial system deprives the political prisoners of contact with their families and uses this method to put more pressure on prisoners.
The three jailed political activists were arrested in August 2019 after joining 11 other peaceful political and civil rights activists in signing a June 2019 open letter calling for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The June 11, 2019, letter said: “The time has come for the people, thinkers, and caring individuals to lead a national movement by setting aside conciliatory tendencies that have facilitated the destruction of our culture, civilization and national wealth, and with all honesty step into the ring and demand fundamental changes to the Constitution and the resignation of the Leader who is unjustly extending his authority on a daily basis.”
