Thank you for signing the FREE REZA petition. Please share it with friends and family.  Last week, Reza and Nasrin's teenage son Nima was severely beaten by guards in the Evin Prison waiting room when he was trying to visit his father. Fortunately, he is now home and recovering. Reza went on a hunger strike, his phone privileges were blocked, and he was put in solitary confinement. Today, Reza was finally able to connect with someone he trusts and he released this statement:

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Six and a half years ago, my learned friend Farhad Meysami, my wife Nasrin, and a number of other friends, following years of women’s struggle to gain their self-evident rights, took action to make a small contribution to the realization of women’s right to freedom of dress. 

We protested against the compulsory hijab in the most civilized and uncivilized way possible. The “crime” we committed was writing a sentence: “I object to the compulsory hijab.” 

That year, Farhad Meysami was arrested and went on long and breathless hunger strikes several times, which in one case led to my temporary release from prison. At the same time as Farhad and I were arrested, many friends were summoned and threatened.

For more than six and a half years, both in and out of prison, I have been involved in a case in which my crime was writing the sentence in question. 
Now that I look back and see the rights that Iranian women have more or less achieved with their teeth and their incredible sacrifices and dedication, despite the fact that the hijab law has not changed, and they continue to protect it with strength, I am proud of our work and am sure that we have taken the right path. 
The arrest of people like me and activists of the women's movement and protesters of the compulsory hijab are the last desperate and senseless attempts that can be made. 

Almost two years ago, my wife and daughter (when she was in Iran) were prevented from entering the prison on the pretext of not wearing the compulsory hijab. This is while I was imprisoned precisely because I protested against the compulsory hijab. 

In continuation of various harassments and pressures, especially on the days of the meeting, last Wednesday, they prevented me from meeting with them, even though they had agreed to my in-person meeting in writing and verbally, and I had come with a meeting card in hand. 

At the same time as preventing in-person visits, they also deactivated my phone card so that I would not be informed of the terrible situation that had befallen my family on the other side of the visitation hall. 

Through my mobile phone, I learned about the horrific events on the other side of the visitation hall, which immediately deactivated my mobile phone card. 

Now that I am writing these lines, I have learned through several intermediaries that several officers in the visitation hall, on the orders of Farzadi, the prison warden, attacked and severely beat our child, Nima, due to his protest against the sudden cancellation of in-person visits. 
My elderly and sick mother’s condition deteriorated after seeing these scenes and she was taken to the hospital. Nima was taken to the Velenjak police station with the officers. On Wednesday evening, after my beloved Nima was released, my wife went to the forensic medicine department for examinations and filing a case. 

Despite all these events, I have not been able to contact my family until now and I am unaware of the extent of the events outside. 

Farzadi, the notorious head of Evin Prison, has created a “prison within a prison” with his lawless behavior and inhumane actions. A few months ago, Zia Nabavi was tried for reporting the widespread presence of bedbugs in Evin Prison, and of course, he was acquitted because his statements were documented. 
Bedbugs continue to plague the prisoners. Drugs are rampant here. The prison yard has become unusable due to drug use in public in front of the prison’s active cameras. It is difficult to find an empty bathroom at midnight, because drug users sometimes use drugs together in two in one bathroom. 
These incidents occur while all attention is on political prisoners, who are constantly being monitored and followed. 

The slightest protest or criticism of the prison administrators’ performance is severely suppressed. They do not even follow their own written rules. In the past 24 hours, the phones of 5 of us have been deactivated, simply because I was trying to contact my family and follow up on my family’s condition. 
Just a few days ago, Mr. Nourizad was attacked in the head by a Malian prisoner with the intention of killing him, but fortunately he survived. 

Following these incidents and the ineffectiveness of warnings and protests, I have been on a hunger strike since Wednesday evening following the attack on my family and the beating of my 17-year-old son in the meeting hall, and the severance of my contact with my family. I will continue until I achieve legal rights, restore my family's dignity, and change the conditions of the prison administration. May the shadow of terror and tyranny be removed from our beloved country one day. 
Finally, I would like to add: "I object to the compulsory hijab.” 

Reza Khandan 
Evin Prison 
11 Bahman 1403