The continued detention of the family and the concealment of the body have revealed new dimensions of pressure and organized deprivation of information against those close to Babak Alipour.
Weeks after the arrest of members of the family of Babak Alipour, a member of the PMOI executed by the regime, reports indicate that three of his relatives remain in detention. This comes while Babak Alipour’s death sentence was carried out on March 31, and his family were not only deprived of a final visit with him, but his body has also not been returned to them after the execution.
Two Protesters in Iran, Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast, Were Executed
According to published information, Ommolbanin Dehghan (his mother), Roozbeh Alipour (his brother), and Maryam Alipour (his sister) have been detained since January 26. The three were arrested in Tehran by security forces while returning from a visit with Babak Alipour.
According to sources close to the family, the only official communication during this period was a text message sent by Branch 5 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office investigative unit to Roozbeh Alipour, informing him that a case had been opened against him on charges of assembly and collusion. However, no clear information has been published regarding the legal status or charges against his mother and sister.
Reports show that Ommolbanin Dehghan and Maryam Alipour are being held in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, while Roozbeh Alipour is under interrogation in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Qarchak Prison has previously been criticized by human rights organizations for its poor detention conditions.
Ommolbanin Dehghan, the 63-year-old mother of this prisoner, has been an activist in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, a protest movement formed in opposition to the death penalty and continued with the participation of prisoners’ families and civil activists. Roozbeh Alipour had also previously been sentenced to two years in prison on charges of insulting the supreme leader of Iran’s regime, and had been released after completing his sentence, but was rearrested in late January.
At the same time, Babak Alipour’s family were denied the right to a final visit before his execution, and even after the execution his body was not handed over to them for burial. This issue has also been reported in some other political prisoner cases and is regarded as a factor intensifying psychological pressure on families.
Martyr Babak Alipour, a member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), had been tried in a joint case alongside five other PMOI members—Vahid Bani Amerian, Mohammad Taghavi, Pouya Ghabadi, Abolhassan Montazer, and Akbar Daneshvarkar—and sentenced to death. All of these PMOI members were executed on March 30, March 31, and April 4.
The swift implementation of these sentences and the lack of transparent notification regarding the timing of their enforcement have raised concerns about the judicial process and the observance of defendants’ rights in these cases. In some instances, families have said they were unaware of the timing of the executions and were suddenly confronted with the reality of their loved ones’ deaths.
