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Travesty of justice: 1,100 days of torture, solitary confinement for Iranian in Sweden

People hold banners and pictures of former judiciary official Hamid Nouri, protesting Sweden’s support for MKO terrorists in front of the Swedish embassy in Tehran on May 9, 2022. (File photo by Fars News Agency)

Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian judiciary official who has been illegally incarcerated in Sweden, on Wednesday completed three years in solitary confinement despite the court's order that the cruel restrictions on him be lifted.

Nouri’s son, Majid Nouri, said on Wednesday that his father has been languishing in solitary confinement since his arrest on flimsy charges in November 2019.

Nouri was arrested immediately upon his arrival at the Stockholm Airport three years ago. Swedish authorities alleged that he was involved in the execution and torture of the members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) in 1988.

He has repeatedly and vehemently rejected the allegations.

In July, a Swedish court sentenced Nouri to life imprisonment. The court, which was described by Iranian officials as illegal, convicted Nouri of so-called war crimes and crimes against humanity, based on allegations leveled by the MKO terrorist cult.

Majid Nouri said he received an email in early July from the judge who acknowledged that restrictions over his father's imprisonment had come to an end.

“However, prison authorities have unfortunately maintained the restrictions by ignoring the judge’s ruling and my father is still in solitary confinement and he cannot visit or contact family members,” he said.

He also noted that his father has suffered torture while in custody, which has caused damage to his eyesight and hearing ability as Swedish authorities bar him from visiting a doctor. “My father is under physical and spiritual torture in the prison, and we are very worried about his health condition.”

Nouri had already given details of his physical torture at the hands of his jailers in a short phone contact with his family before the illegal sentence was issued. He had then complained about the failure of human rights organizations in visiting him and dealing with the rights violations.

Meanwhile, Heibatollah Nazhandi-Manesh, who is a legal advisor to Nouri’s family, said on Wednesday that since no calls or visits are allowed between Nouri and his family, Swedish lawyers of the case are informing the family about his health condition.

Even consular access to him has become limited, he said, adding that no human rights organization has responded to the family’s call to address the case.

The Swedish government, he said, is required to respect the rights of detainees based on the European Convention on Human Rights as well as EU regulations and directives.

“Keeping an individual in solitary confinement for three years is tantamount to torture,” he said.

Iranian judiciary to pursue Nouri’s rights

Iranian Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi vowed that the judicial branch will follow up on Nouri’s rights.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he said Nouri “has been in solitary confinement for a thousand and one hundred days, and human rights claimants are silent.”

Nouri had only a “five-minute” conversation with his family in the past two months, he said.


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