Reza (Arash) Hampay Gharamaleki, the founder of Hamyaran-E-Mehrandish Association, was apparently forced to leave Iran due to frequent threats and alleged summons by intelligence services. Arash had been repeatedly detained by regime's forces between 2005-2013, as he claimed.

According to Mr. Hampay, he was originally arrested by officials in front of Tehran's UN office when he attended a protest in support of Persian Gulf on Oct 7, 2005. He was taken to the solitary confinement in Ward 209 of the notorious Evin prison. Later, on December 5, 2008 he was arrested and sent to Evin again for the duration of one month.

In 2009, during the uprising, he was a beaten so badly he lost nine teeth as BCR Group learned in an exclusive interview with Mr. Hampay. He was subsequently arrested due to meeting with the families of 2009 victims and sent to Ward 350 of Evin for four months this time.

Finally, Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, chaired by notoriously cruel Judge Mohammad Mogheyseh, sentenced him to three years in prison on the vague charges of "insulting to Supreme Leader of Iran" and"propaganda against the regime of Iran", according to Arash's claim.  He was taken to Ward 350 to begin serving his sentence on December 16, 2013 and was pardoned and released on July 21, 2015.

According to news, regime's plain-clothes police had beaten him and seized his cameras on September 2015 for this very activity.

This individual's only activism or crime was helping the impoverished brick makers in his community; aiding them with medicine, clothing and food. Bricks in Iran are not manufactured in factories but instead are made by hand inside hot, deep and very dangerous pits.

Officials had threatened him in a phone call that he will be arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was forced to escape Iran illegally through Turkey to save his life, as he said.

His father, Ali-Akbar Hampay, who was employed inside Iran in a tractor Manufacturing Company was fired from his job and was suspiciously shot to death by a Basiji member, named Mehdi Alipour according to his son, Reza. The assailant was then promoted by Security agencies.

By: Kaveh Taheri