The following information stems from a credible source for the usage of the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners.
BE HIS VOICE
The story of Farshad Dastmardi is a testament to his dedication to fight for freedom and change as well as his strength in light of his arrest and torture during the Woman-Life-Freedom movement. He has embarked on an arduous path to help bring fundamental changes to his society and country Iran.
He is 32 from Dahdasht, who has been arrested during the latest Woman-Life-Freedom revolution. During these times, people of Dahdasht like other cities in Iran rose up in response to the murder of Zhina (Masha) Amini and as such they also were shot at, wounded or killed by the mercenaries of Islamic Regime of Iran during the protests.
Pedram Azarnoush and Mehrdad Behnam were both killed in Dahdasht and as such the people of Dahdasht showed their dissatisfaction of the current Regime of Iran with more force. During the funeral of these two young men, the Iranian Regime arrested more than 20 people including Farshad Dastmardi.
According to the recent court records on October 30, 2022, Farshad Dastmardi has been accused of leading a group of protestors and as such he was under torture for 130 consecutive days and finally released on bail. His bail was 5 billion Tomans( Iran’s currency).
The brutal story of Farshad Dastmardi’s torture by IRGC relayed from a credible source:
The night before Farsahd’s arrest, he went into the city to meet up with a friend and he was followed by IRGC members and they suddenly started firing shots at his car which caused him to steer into the curb and his car caught fire but he managed to escape. He was arrested the day after the accident at his sister’s house where 10 IRGC cars accompanied him out of her house while covering his head and chaining his feet. They transferred him to a tunnel-like place where they removed his head cover as well as feet chains and started beating him up with buttons until he passed out. They threw water at him to wake him up to continue the torture during which he passed out 3 times. He was beaten nearly dead as IRGC members would swap spots with new members to continue the torture during their rest breaks. At some point, IRGC members stood in a line and started pushing Farshad between each other. At other times, they stood in a circle to continue beating him as a group until his breathing became challenging. After this session of torture, they covered his head again and transferred him in a car to the next destination. This took 1.5 hours during which they kept beating him up in the back of the car. At the new destination he was handed over to the intelligence unit of IRGC to continue the torture. They prevented him from sleeping for several days by torturing him and throwing water at him. They finally brought him some food with beverage. The beverage caused him to forget everything even his own name. They kept medicating him under the supervision of the Medical Doctor of the prison with drugs such as Tracopine, etc…..the objective was to either kill him or make him insane causing him long lasting mental health issues. After 4 months and 10 days of torture, he was released on bail. The amount of bail was Five hundred million Tomans(Iran’s currency).
Darstmardi’s Second Arrest
Given the anniversary of the murder of Zhina (Masha) Amini was imminent and many of the protestors were arrested for a second time, Farsahd was in hiding in an unknown location. In order to find his location, IRGC members threatened his mother by utilizing their guns to force her to divulge his location information.
Proof of the charges against Farshad Dastmardi
As per this proof, Farshad disappeared by the end of August 2023 and after 6 months, it became apparent that he was arrested again by the Intelligence unit of the IRGC and he was in their custody.
During this 6 months, his torture continued mainly through administration of pharmaceuticals which caused him nightmares, forgetfulness as well as lack of attention and focus.
The court’s verdict regarding Farsahd Dastmardi’s charges
For the second time on behalf of the Criminal Court 101 of City of Dahdasht, Farsahd Dastmardi was charged with propagation against the Islamic Regime, enticement of others to civil war in order to jeopardize national security. He was given a prison sentence of 3 years, 7 months and 16 days. This court verdict was handed down to Farshad without his knowledge and without his presence. After 8 days of strike , he was released on bail on January 21,2024، until his trial comes to an end. His temporary bail from the Yasouj prison was for the amount of two million Tomans( Iran’s currency).
Efforts to frame Farshad Dastmardi
As per the notice published on January 2, 2024, Farshad is being framed for new charges which could put him in more risks and danger. This is happening as Farshad is currently struggling from the aftermath of his initial physical torture as well as the administration of the pharmaceuticals that he ingested through his food and drinks during his stay in prison. His physical and mental health is currently suffering due to his torture.
