Evin Prison wardens called the elderly and ill mother of detained civil activist Farhad Maysami and had her listen to the voice of her son while screaming under torture.
According to a Facebook post by Reza Khandan, husband of imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, “They called the old, sick and lonely mother of Farhad Maysami at least twice on Wednesday, August 8, once at 11 p.m. and next around 4 a.m., and had her listen on the phone to the sounds of beatings to extract confessions from her son. The first time, if it were not for the presence of friends, we might have been faced with another catastrophe and nobody could understand the cause. Mr. Maysami’s mother suffered from muscular cramps due to the anxiety and horror caused by the calls, and her friends spent hours to help her get back to normal conditions.”
The mother of Mr. Meysami has wrote a letter to the 7th Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office, demanding the authorities to follow up on the suspicious nightly phone calls containing the voice of her son under torture.
On august 13, 2018, the woman along with her lawyer, Arash Keykhosravi, went to Evin Prison but since only a few government-vetted lawyers have sole approval from the Iranian judiciary to defend clients accused of security offenses, Mr. KeyKhosravi was not alowed to represent her. She handed over a letter of concern about her son to the 7th Branch of the Prosecutor’s Office, asking to let her talk with her son to hear the truth whether he was tortured to make confessions or not, according to Reza Khandan.
About the reaction of the judge who received Farhad Meysemi’s mother’s letter Reza Khandan said, “The judge told him that Farhad’s friend are to blame. But I do not know how the judge knows that it was Farhad’s friends? And basically why they have not arrested the friends who have caused the harassment.” Reza Khandan said.
Farhad Maysami, a former publisher of Exam Preparation Books from Ayandehsazan Publishing, was arrested on Wednesday night, July 31, 2018, at his office. This 48-year-old civil rights activist has been transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
