18 March 2009
Omidreza Mirsayafi
Unknown
Mirsayafi, 28, author of the cultural news blog, Rooznegar, died in Tehran's Evin Prison, where he was serving a 30-month term on charges of insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 revolution.
Prison officials said Mirsayafi had committed suicide, the journalist's lawyer, Muhammad Ali Dadkhah, told the UK 's Times Online. Dadkhah? said Mirsayafi ?had expressed concerns about his health, "but the doctors there didn't take this seriously and said he was faking it."
Mirsayafi had just begun serving his prison term in February. Hissam Fairoozy, an inmate, told Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) that Mirsayafi had suffered from depression and had been taken anti-depressant medication. Fairoozy, a physician, said that he was concerned about Mirsayafi's condition and had unsuccessfully sought to have prison doctors to hospitalize his fellow inmate. Amirparviz Mirsayafi disputed claims that his brother suffered from depression.
He told the U.S. government-funded Voice of America (VOA) on March 28 that his brother had no history of taking anti-depressant medication. He told VOA that his brother's body showed signs of abuse, including a left ear that "was covered with blood," he said.
VOA posted a photo of Mirsayafi's face that showed facial bruises. The government did not disclose any details about Mirsayafi's death. Mirsayafi, in an interview with HRAI after being sentenced, said he had been coerced into making a false confession. He said the court didn't specify the blog entries that it considered offensive.
