Reports received by the Karun Human Rights Organization indicate that Mokhtar Al-Boshouka, Mostafa Halichi, Reza Hezbavi, Abbas Saedi, and Amer Machasebeh — Ahwazi Arab political prisoners held in Ward 5 of Sheiban Prison in Ahwaz — delivered their final defense statements via videoconference on Monday, September 22, in response to the charge of “membership in an insurgent group,” before Judge Liraki, the investigator of Branch 13. After the session ended, the case was referred to the Ahwaz Revolutionary Court for a final verdict.
According to the reports, Mostafa Halichi and Reza Hezbavi who are both poets and civil activists, were arrested by the Public Security Police of Faraja in December 2024. They were initially taken to the detention center of this security agency and, after one month, were transferred to Sheiban Prison.
The Karun Organization had previously stated that these five prisoners had been subjected to severe physical and sexual torture and were being held under extremely harsh conditions. Their physical condition has been so dire that they have been repeatedly transferred to Sheiban Prison’s infirmary for treatment in recent months.
Previously, Karun’s informed sources had also confirmed that Mokhtar Al-Boshouka, Abbas Saedi, and Amer Machasebeh were transferred from Sheiban Prison to the Public Security Police detention center one week after the arrest of Mostafa Halichi and Reza Hezbavi, where they were severely tortured.
It is noteworthy that Mokhtar Al-Boshouka, who has been imprisoned in Sheiban and the former Karun Prison since 2011 without a single day of furlough, has been suffering from a hernia for some time. Reports indicate that the recent torture has caused an infection in his condition, leaving him in critical health.
The Karun Organization, condemning these actions, has stressed that fabricating cases with vague charges and exerting pressure on families constitutes a blatant violation of the rights of political prisoners and the principles of fair trial. The organization has called for an immediate halt to the new case fabrication against Ahwazi Arab political prisoners and for guarantees of their rights.
