Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Wife of Jailed Iranian Activist Says Husband, 5 Other Political Prisoners
Tested Positive for Coronavirus

Michael Lipin

   WASHINGTON - The wife of a jailed Iranian teachers union leader says
   her husband and five other dissidents have tested positive for the
   coronavirus in a Tehran prison that has transferred them to rooms where
   they cannot maintain social distance.

   In a Monday interview with VOA Persian from her home in Tehran, the
   wife of Esmail Abdi said he told her about the predicament facing him
   and the other inmates in a phone call from Evin prison the day before.

   Monir Abdi cited her husband as saying that he and the other five
   dissidents were among a total of 12 prisoners who tested positive for
   the coronavirus in Evin's Ward 8 after undergoing a first round of
   tests last week. She said he told her that prison authorities shared
   the results with him and the other prisoners on Sunday, about two weeks
   after some of them began experiencing coronavirus symptoms including
   loss of the senses of taste and smell.

   Abdi said her husband also informed her that he and the other 11
   prisoners were transferred to Evin's health center on Sunday and split
   into two groups of six, with each group being housed in separate rooms
   where social distancing was not possible. She said he told her that the
   health center gave them follow-up coronavirus tests and promised
   definitive results within 48 hours.

   Esmail Abdi is a high school teacher and former leader ofthe Iranian
   Teachers'Trade Association, who has been serving a six-year prison term
   since November 2016 for alleged national security offenses related to
   his peaceful advocacy of teachers'rights.

   "Esmail has been suffering from a respiratory illness since his last
   hunger striketwo years ago, and the virushas worsened
   hisbreathingdifficulties,"Monir Abdi said.'¯"Prison authorities
   haveincreasedhisdosageof respiratory medication, prescribed asthma
   sprays and blood pressuremedication, but we areworried thathislungs
   will be seriously damaged,"she added.

   The jailed labor activist has had several furloughs from prison since
   the start of his six-year term, including from [1]March 17 to April 20
   and from [2]January 9-20, 2018.

   Abdi's latest prison leave earlier this year coincided with Iran
   temporarily releasing tens of thousands of prisoners to reduce the risk
   of coronavirus contagion in its overcrowded and unsanitary jails. His
   furlough ended after just over a month, disappointing his wife who told
   VOA she had tried to get him out of Evin again.

   "We went to theEvincourt several times and askedit to grant leave,
   followhealth protocols in the prisonandreduce the number of prisoners
   in each room, but nothing was done,"Monir Abdi said.

   She said Evin prisoners seeking to protect themselves from the virus
   have been left to fend for themselves.

   "When thecoronavirusbeganspreadingin Iranian prisons,inmateswere given
   only twofacemasks and aone-time-usedisinfectant,"Abdisaid."After that,
   nosuchsanitarymaterialswereprovided,andthe prisonerswere forced to
   buyhygiene itemsat their own expense and at a high price from the
   prisonstore."

   Abdi said her husband identified the five other dissidents who tested
   positive for the virus as IranianjournalistMajidAzarpey,labor union
   leader Jafar Azimzadeh, attorney and human right defender Amirsalar
   Davoudi,a mannamedMohsenGhanbariwhose background was unclear,
   andChristianconvert'¯Mohammad Ali Mosibzadeh.

   Azimzadeh is a leading member of the'¯[3]Free Union of Iranian
   Workers(FUIW), a group that formed in 2006 without government approval
   and advocates for better wages for workers.

References

   1. https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2020/06/prominent-teachers-rights-activist-facing-additional-years-in-prison/
   2. https://www.ei-ie.org/en/detail/16681/iran-iranian-teacher-unionist-esmail-abdi-released-from-jail
   3. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/organization/free-union-iranian-workers-fuiw

.