Ayatollah Tortured, Near Death, in Iran for Criticizing Political Islam

Ayatollah Boroujerdi's condition has reportedly worsened as of January 28, 2014, when he suffered severe body tremors and was motionless for hours in his cell. The authorities still refuse to transfer him to a medical facility and are denying him the most basic medical care. We ask for intervention to save his life.

Ayatollah Hossein-Kazamani Boroujerdi, a senior member of the Shiite Muslim clergy, is presently serving the eighth year of an 11-year sentence handed down to him by the Islamic Republic's courts for advocating the separation of state and religion inside Iran. He has also spoken against political Islam and its leaders. As a result, during his time in prison, he has been exposed to torture especially reserved for the Islamic Republic's dissident clergy and political prisoners. Boroujerdi has endured the rape of his spouse in front of other family members. He has been purposely exposed to toxic chemical agents while kept in a small solitary cell. As a result, he now suffers permanent neurological damage, further aggravated by group beatings. Urgent medical attention has been systematically withheld for his long list of ailments, which are mostly a direct result of years of torture and malnutrition.

Ayatollah Hossein-Kazamani Boroujerdi, in better times (left) and in his prison cell (right).

On September 29, 2013, for example, Ayatollah Boroujerdi suffered a heart attack in prison for which he was refused medical intervention. His condition has reportedly worsened as of January 28, 2014, when he had severe body tremors and was motionless for hours in his cell, where he presently remains with no medical care.

Possibly due to Ayatollah Boroujerdi's prominence, the regime has apparently chosen not to execute him, but instead to kill him silently in prison. There were two failed attempts on his life by poisoning inside prison in 2012. His mother, detained at the same time, was also poisoned and died as a result. Previously, in November 2011, a prisoner on death row was told by the authorities that if he succeeded in killing Boroujerdi he would be set free. The attempt failed when other prisoners intervened.

To protest the violent crimes of political Islam in the Islamic Republic, Boroujerdi announced via audio tape from prison that: "I am not inclined anymore to wear this frock; this frock has no credit or value in Iran or the international community" and removed his clerical robes.

Ayatollah Boroujerdi descends from a long line of renowned Shiite clergy; both his father and grandfather were staunch opponents of religious leaders in politics. As a result, both of his parents, along with his brother, were killed by the authorities under mysterious circumstances, as is the regime's custom.

Despite his critical medical condition in prison, he remains defiant and his spirit remains unbreakable: he has stated hopes that his case will serve as a strong indictment of the Islamic Republic's despotic rule and unspeakable human rights violations.

Ayatollah Boroujerdi has risked losing his life slowly under torture by writing letters from inside prison to then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and to the United Nations, speaking of the absolute lack of freedom inside Iran, the grotesque human rights violations and the imminent danger of political Islam. Further, he recently urged people of Iran to boycott the so-called elections on June 14, 2013. As a direct result of this statement his tortures recommenced despite his extremely fragile medical condition.

Ms. Roya Araghi, an advocate of Boroujerdi who herself was jailed and tortured for defending the him, and has since fled Iran, believes that without medical treatment and international intervention, Ayatollah Boroujerdi will most likely die soon under torture.

On June 29, 2013, members of Ayatollah Boroujerdi's family went to Evin prison to visit him, and were shocked to see nature of his physical condition in the seventh year of his 11-year sentence. He has developed acute heart disease, which has led to the severe swelling of his feet and knees. He also suffers from ocular, pulmonary and respiratory disorders, but has been denied medical treatment by officials until he "repents "and "mends his ways".

On July 8, 2013, Boroujerdi was interrogated for an extended period of time by government agents for his refusal to concede to the demands of the regime by signing a letter of "repentance." He was informed that "the pressures and tortures will increase until he has been destroyed". He has thus far refused to surrender.

In a rare phone call to his family that followed this episode, he stated that he "will never give in to a single threat or intimidation tactic of the regime." His family stated that he also added, "he does not regret any of his actions and stands by his word, as he is prepared to die".

After their visit, the Boroujerdi family announced that the tyrannical regime of the Islamic Republic's fanatics continue systematically to exterminate political prisoners and prisoners of conscience through well-planned prolonged torture; both psychological and physical.

Despite a statement by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012 and a plea by the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Dr. Ahmad Shaheed, to release Ayatollah Boroujerdi, the Iranian regime continues to torture this man of God whose only crime is advocating separation of religion from politics, democracy and human rights.

On July 24, 2013, Andrew Bennett, Canada's Ambassador to the Office of Religious Freedom, condemned the prolonged detention of Grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi by Iranian authorities, but to no avail.

The regime of Iran is silently executing Mr. Boroujerdi, without a bullet or a noose -- away from the eyes of the world. These silent executions are now a common method of killing political prisoners in Iran as the regime tries to hide its grotesque human rights violations and its escalating rate of executions of opponents.

The human rights activists for democracy in Iran would like to bring to the immediate attention of all international human rights organizations and governments that Ayatollah Boroujerdi's life is in grave danger due to deliberate withholding of necessary medical care by the authorities in Iran. We ask for an intervention on his behalf, to save his life.

Appendix: Partial List of Political Prisoners in Iran

Source: The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners (CFPPI)

Name	Age	Prison	City	Sentence	Charges	Ailment	Arrest Date
Mohammad-Reza Pourshajri	53	Central Prison	Karaj	4 years	Acting against national security Insulting Islam Insulting the Supreme Leader	Diabetes, kidney stones, heart attack, enlarged prostate	2010
Dr. Sayed Madani		Central Prison	Bandar Abbas	6 years	Acting against national security Civil rights activist Sociology Research	Gallbladder stones	2011
Dr. Nader Babai		Evin, ward 350	Tehran	74 lashes and 6 years suspended sentence	Social and civil activist arrested during the 2009 protests for helping his student Omid Dana. war vet for Iran/Iraq war	2 strokes internal bleeding seizures	2012
Vahid Roohbakhsh		Evin, ward 350	Tehran	18 months suspended sentence	he was arrested during the 2009 protests on charges of protesting/gathering and propagating propaganda against the regime	due to severe beatings during torture he has lost 70% of his hearing and needs a hearing aid	2010
Dr. Haani Yazloo	59	Evin, ward 350	Tehran	6 years	propaganda against the regime he was previously arrested and sentenced to 1 year in prison and 15 years in exile	He has had 2 open heart surgeries and suffers from extremely high blood pressure.	2012
Pajman Abdodlhossein Zade		Evin, ward 350	Tehran	Held for 1 year	Green movement activist from 2009 and arrested before and this year again	Broken arm during arrest	2012
Mehdi Khodai		Evin, ward 350	Tehran	7 years	human rights activist acting against national security	Injured jaw and gums (due to beatings)	2012
Zaniar Moradi		Rajai Shahr	Karaj	Death-hanging	enemy of God alleged killing of the son of an Imam	Broken spine and unbearable pain as result of routine torture, paralysis	2008
Loghman Moradi		Rajai Shahr	Karaj	Death-hanging	enemy of God alleged killing of the son of an Imam	Broken spine and unbearable pain as result of routine torture	2008
Yashar Daralshafa		Evin	Tehran	5.5 years	acting against national security insulting the President	Problems with spine and disc	2009
Saeed MatinPour	38	Evin	Tehran	8 years	acting against national security contacting with foreigners	Extreme back pain and numb legs	1997
Ahmad Doneshpour		Evin	Tehran	Death	Supporter of the MEK	Crohn's and intestinal bleeding	2009
Ayatollah Hossein Boroujerdi	54	Evin	Tehran	One year in Tehran and 10 years exile	Accused of acting against national security, holding lectures and public incitement against the regime and Islamic Constitution	Due to torture he is suffering from Parkinson's diseases, heart disease, kidney failure, pulmonary edema, edema of the legs, diabetes, high blood pressure, 90% loss of vision in the right eye and many other ailments	2006
Rasool Badaghi		Rajai Shahr	Karaj	In prison 6 years	Teachers Union board member	Severe debilitating headaches	2009
Reza Shahabi		Evin ward 350	Tehran	4 years prison and 5 years ban on union activities, 70 million Tomans fine	Union worker activist member of imprisoned workers union	high blood pressure and neck and low back pain	2010
Mohammad Jarahi		Tabriz Prison	Tabriz	5 years	Workers Union member	Thyroid gland tumor which has developed to cancer	2011
Mohammad Ali Taheri	54	Evin ward 209	Tehran	7 years prison, 900 million Tomans fine and 64 lashes	Apostasy, violating national security establishment of a spiritual center( Erfan-e Halghe)	Has been on hunger strike 9 times and has serious infection of the mouth and jaw
Hamid Navid		Evin ward 350	Tehran	Death		Lymphatic cancer
Ali Alaee		Evin	Tehran	7 years	Collaboration with a hostile enemy government	Heart disease and spinal cord pain/injury
Mostafa Daneshjoo		Evin -- intelligence /security section	Tehran	in prison without sentencing	part of the Dervish Gonabadi group	Lung disease, difficulty breathing	2011
Reza Entesary		Evin	Tehran		Webmaster, blogger (blog: Majzobane Noor)	Injury to left arm	2011
Assadollah Hadi		Evin	Tehran	5 years	Ex-political prisoner in '80s acting against national security	Severe heart disease along with problems with the meniscus of the knee	2009
Asghar Ghattan		Evin ward 350	Tehran	5.5 years	Ex-political prisoner in 80's connection to MEK organization	Kidney and heart problems along with prostate issues	2010
Mohmmad Salemi	64	Evin ward 350	Tehran	3 years	Ex-political prisoner in 80's connection to MEK organization enemy of God	Heart disease and spinal sciatica and kidney problems	2009
Mohammad Sadigh Kabodavand		Evin	Tehran	10.5 years	establishing a human rights organization and acting against national security	Prostate problems	1997
Kamyar Sabeti		Evin	Tehran	5 years	spying	Heart disease
Sina Azeemi		Evin	Tehran	5 years	spying	Problems breathing/lung issues
Mohsen Daneshpour	67	Evin	Tehran	Death	acting against national security enemy of God connection to MEK organization	Heart and prostate disease	2009
Hassan Faraji		Evin ward 350	Tehran	7 years	spying	Heart disease, spinal cord injury, intestinal disease	2009
Alireza Ahmadi	30	Evin ward 350	Tehran		Collaborating with enemy	Broken legs during interrogation as a result of being kicked	2012
Tasavor Taghipour		Evin ward 350	Tehran	7 years	member of human rights organization and thus propaganda against the regime	Jaw and gum problems	2012
Mohammad Davari	41	Evin ward 350	Tehran	5 years	Acting against national security	Knee and lower back joint problems along with mouth and teeth injuries	2009
Amir Khoram	51	Evin	Tehran	8 years	Member of the Freedom Movement - conspiring against national security	Jaw and gum injuries	2009
Amir Eslami		Evin ward 350	Tehran	No sentence arrested in 2011	Member of Darvish Gonabadi and webmaster, blogger (blog: Majzobane Noor)	Severe heart and intestinal pain	2011
Rahman Ghahermanpour		Evin ward 350	Tehran	3.5 years	spying	Spinal cord pain, nose, ear and throat issues	2011
Esmael Barzagari		Evin ward 350	Tehran	No sentence arrested 2011	Acting against national security	Gum and jaw issues	2011
Nader Jani		Evin ward 350	Tehran	3.5 years	Assembly and collusion against national security	Spinal cord, heart lung problems	2012
Saeed Mohammad Ebrahimi		Evin ward 350	Tehran	5 years	insulting the Supreme Leader Acting against national security involvement in a soft Coup	Asthma and intestinal issues plus lower back Joint problem - herniated disc	2010
Hamid Reza Moradi		Evin ward 209	Tehran	No sentence	Member of Darvish Gonabadi acting against national security spreading lies and propaganda	Spinal stenosis	2011
Hossein Zarrini		Evin ward 350	Tehran	4 years	Assembly and collusion against national security	epilepsy	2010
Behnam Ebrahim Zade		Evin ward 350	Tehran	5 years	Workers Union Activist	Arthritis in the neck and ear, jaw and kidney pain	2010
Saeed Abedeeni		Evin ward 350	Tehran	8 years	Establishing and running a church from his home	Bleeding from stomach and bladder	2012
Farzad Rohi		Evin	Tehran	3.5 years	Propaganda against the regime and insulting Islam	Sinusitis	2010
Assadollah Assadi		Evin ward 350	Tehran	10 years	Collaborating with enemy	Lung problems/disease	2010
Gholamreza Hosseini		Evin ward 209	Tehran	10 years	Collaborating with enemy	The destruction of the hip joint, and leg – gum issues	2010
Majid Assadi		Evin ward 350	Tehran	4 years	Assembly and collusion against national security	Anxiety and severe headaches	2008
Nader Karbassi	58	Evin	Tehran	No sentence	Communicating with opposition groups	Joint problem - herniated disc	2011
Mohammad Banazade Amir-Kheezi	68	Evin ward 209	Tehran	5 years	Communicating with MEK organization	History of surgery and has severe bone pain	2010
Mushallah Hatteri	61	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	15 years	Ex-political prisoner in the 80s protesting in 2009 demonstrations	Has had heart surgery and suffers from brain hemorrhage	2009
Riazollah Sobhani	68	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	4 years	Professor of online Baha'i school, member of the Baha'i faith	History of heart surgery. arthritis in hands and feet	2011
Jamal Khanjani	80	Evin	Tehran	20 years	Member of the Baha'i faith Accused of spying for Israel	Old age	2008
Mohammad Saifzadeh	66	Evin ward 350	Tehran	8 years	Establishing human rights organization and acting against the regime	Stroke, numbness of hands and feet. Severe chest pains	2011
Farhad Sadaghi	67	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	4 years	Professor of online Baha'i school and member of Baha'i faith	Kidney stones, gall bladder stones and cataracts	2011
Kayvan Samimi	65	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	6 years	Questioning the 2009 election results and calling the results fraudulent	Severe heart disease - joint problems - need for internal operations	2009
Sharokh Tanef	64	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	4 years	Being a member of the Baha'i faith	Joint pain	2008
Karim Ma'rof Aziz	70	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	Life in prison	spying	Diabetes - old age	1995
Behrooz Azizi Tavakoli	62	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	20 years	Member of Baha'i faith Spying for Israel	Coronary Heart – Arthritis and herniated disc	1997
Fariba Kamal Abadi (female)		Evin	Tehran	20 years	Member of Baha'i faith Spying for Israel	Osteoporosis	2007
Mahvash Shahriyari (female)		Evin	Tehran	20 years	Member of Baha'i faith Spying for Israel	Osteoporosis and depression	2008
Hassan Fatali Ashtiani	64	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	15 years	Communication with MEK organization	Joint pain	2007
Kamran Mortezai	61	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	5 years	Member of Baha'i faith Spying for Israel	Severe back and knee pain	2011
Amonollah Mostaghim
Rajai Shahr			Karaj	5 years	Member of Baha'i faith And a teacher of the faith online	Diabetic, heart disease and history of open heart surgery	2010
Favad Moghadam	62	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	5 years	Member of Baha'i faith And a teacher of the faith online	Swelling of the arteries and herniated disc	2011
Adelle Naemi	61	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	11 years	Member of Baha'i faith Spying for Israel	Heart disease, diabetic and past gall bladder and intestine surgery	2011
Neymat Rashidi	21	Evin	Tehran	No sentence	Member of the minority group of Kurdistan communications with opposition groups	Pain from injuries caused by torture	2011
Ali Ma'ezi	59	Central prison	Karaj	One year in prison - suspended	Enemy of God and supporter of MEK organization	bladder cancer	2011
Reza Joshan	27			2.5 years in prison and 3 years exile	Enemy of God	Vision and heart problems and increased blood platelet count	2010
Mijagh Bozdannejad	27	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	13 years	Communication with MEK And paying tribute to those executed in 1988	depression	2007
Mohammad Ali Mansouri	53	Rajai Shahr	Karaj	18 years	Communication with MEK		2007
Saeed Maasoori	48	Gohardasht	Karaj	Life	Communication with MEK	Heart disease painful gums,, back pain	2000
Shahram Radmehr		Rajai Shahr	Karaj	9 years	Propaganda against the regime and insulting Islam
Behnoud Gholizadeh		Rajai Shahr	Karaj	9 years	Propaganda against the regime and insulting Islam
Sedigheh Moradi	54			9 years
Motahareh Bahrami	60	Evin	Tehran	10 years	Enemy of god and connection with MEK		2009
Kobra Bannazadeh Amirkhizi	62	Evin	Tehran	5 years	Enemy of god and connection with MEK
Peyman KasNezhad		Evin	Tehran	3 years	Connection with Israel
Davoud Asadi	78	Kianoush Sabouri
Omid Shahmoradi Sanandaji		Evin	Tehran	3 years	Acting against national security		2011
Mahdi Sajedifar	35	Evin	Tehran		Connection with foreign government		2011
Amir Moladoust
Morteza Rahim Tayefeh
Majid Mohammadi Moien		Evin	Tehran	4 years	Connection with foreign government		2012
Afshin Karampour
MohammadHossein Yousefpour		Evin	Tehran	5.5 years	Propaganda against the regime and apostasy		2009
Abdollah Momeni	36	Evin	Tehran		Propaganda against the regime and apostasy		2009
Alireza Ousivand Karimi
Omid Kokabee	31	Evin	Tehran	10 years	communicating with a hostile government	kidney problems some stomach issues	2011
Zeynab Jalalian	33	Dizel-Abad	Kermanshah	Life	enmity against God (moharebeh)	losing eye sight	2007
Hossein ronaghi	28	Evin	Tehran	15 years	Acting against national security	Kidny disease, stomach bleeding, several hunger strikes in prison	2009
Sakhi Rigi		Karoon	Ahvaz	20 years	Acting against national security, Webmaster, blogger, Jondollah supporter	Issue with his Thyroid gland
Ebrahim Rigi		Karoon	Ahvaz	11 years	Acting against national security and Jondollah supporter	Bladder, Kidney and urine tract
Esmael Vafavi		Karoon	Ahvaa	25 years	Acting against national security and Jondollah supporter	Seizures, severe headache and deformed in the region of the scalp due to lashing
Syed Zia Navabi		Karoon	Ahvaa	10 years	Acting against national security, Support for right of education	Gum and tooth infection
Majid Doori		Karoon	Ahvaa	6 years	Acting against national security, Support for Right ofEducation	Gum and tooth infection
Yousef Fotuhi		Karoon	Ahvaa	9 years	Connection with PEJAK	Suspicious painful lump between his shoulder
Kazem Khosh Namak		Karoon	Ahvaa	10 years	Collaborating with enemy	Extreme weakness of vision

by Shadi Paveh