By:Laleh Moazenzadeh
Saturday, January 3, 2015

Khalid Hardani was sentenced to execution on accusation of hijacking and disturbing to flight safety on Jan 2001. His verdict was reduced after his family and lawyers had objected to it. Hence, his death penalty was cancelled and reduced to life imprisonment.

Exclusive interview with a well informed source about Mr.Khalid Hardani.
Q- Could you inform us about the condition of Khalid Hardani? How long has he served in prison?

A-He has been kept for about 14 years in prison

Q- What charge is he accused of?

A-He is accused of acting against national security, hijacking and disturbing to flight safety, insulting to Iran�s Supreme Leader, and falsification of Islam.

Q- Does he have a lawyer, and if yes, was his lawyer presented in the court?

A-He is not allowed to hire an attorney by Anti-Terrorist Service forces, and the public lawyer was not impressive in his case. His public lawyer is looking for the arrangements of the regime instead of defending him, and was not helpful. The case was conducted on the way that is not fair, and it is against Khalid.

Q-What verdict is he sentenced to?

A-He was sentenced to death penalty on 2001, and his verdict was reduced to life imprisonment five years later.

He was accused of communicating with foreign media and sentenced to seven years imprisonment and six years exile to Khash. And he sentenced to two years imprisonment. He was sentenced to entirely nine years and life imprisonment.

Q-Which prisons has he been in? Is he in Evin all this time?

A-He is kept in Rajai Shahr right now, but he was kept in Evin prison from 2001to 2003. He was exiled to Rajai Shahr on 2003. He had been on hunger strike in order to protest against forging document against him, and he was returned again to ward 350 Evin. Once more, he was exiled to Rajai Shahr on Feb 2007, and eventually, he was transferred to Rajai Shahr up to now.

Q- While he was kept in various prisons, what rights of him were violated?

A-According to the law, the prisoners have some rights such as release or parole. The inmates who sentence to life imprisonment must serve at least 3 years of their detention, and then they can apply for release or parole. He has currently been serving fourteen years in Rajai Shahr prison, was then allegedly deprived of temporary prison leave as permitted in Iranian law.  Not only his rights have not been respected, but also, another charge has been frogged to silence him. He has not met his family in the past 20 months and had not access to his case too.

Khalid had been on hunger strike for 12 days to protest to all the impolite behavior by officials and torture he has been undergone. He is deprived of the meeting his children too.

He doesn�t have some rights such as communicating and meeting his family and correspondence which is the basic rights for all prisoners that must be respected.

Khalid, Ahwazi politicalprisoner, suffers from stomach bleeding by the reason of his hunger strikes. The officials deny his medical release, and they avoid providing him with health treatment in the prison clinic.

To be noted, he could not have a release time to go for his mother funeral on Sep 2007.

Translated : Kaveh Taheri