“I Fear for His Safety,” Says Father of Imprisoned Student Zia Nabavi

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Ali Akbar Nabavi, father of imprisoned student activist Zia Nabavi, expressed concern about rumors that political prisoners in Ahvaz will soon be transferred back to Karoon Prison. “I talked with Zia on the phone two days ago. He said that, ‘there are rumors in prison that they want to return us to Karoon Prison again.’ It will be a tragedy if they transfer him back there again; my son will get into hardship again. I am very concerned. If they return him there, I fear for his safety,” Nabavi told the Campaign. According to reports, several political prisoners who were previously held in Karoon Prison in Ahvaz, and were later transferred to another prison due to the deplorable conditions there, have been returned to the facility again. Among the political prisoners in Karoon Prison was Zia Nabavi, a student banned from continuing his education and a ten-year prison term in exile. Several months after Nabavi was transferred from Evin Prison to begin his term in exile, he wrote a shocking letter to Mohammad Javad Larijani, General Secretary of the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council, about the inhumane conditions in Karoon Prison. Consequently, Nabavi and other political prisoners inside Karoon were transferred to a prison facility called “The Clinic.” According to the families of political prisoners, the new facility was considerably better than Karoon Prison. The new rumors created a fresh wave of concern among prisoners and their families. “‘The Clinic’ Prison is good. Its officials are good people too; their treatment has always been good. We were able to visit Zia there several times. We and Zia are both happy with this. But we were never able to have a proper visit with Zia when he was in Karoon Prison. The prison authorities treated Zia and us in inappropriate ways. It would be horrible if they return them there,” Ali Akbar Nabavi told the Campaign.