Iranian Student Imprisoned for Being Concerned by Jailed Mother’s Health

Iranwire – Mohammad Mehdi Vosoghian, a student at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences who has been in jail for a week, is said to be in a “critical” health condition.

Vosoghian, 20, was apprehended by the Islamic Republic’s security forces on September 20 and is held in Isfahan’s Dastgerd prison.

Concerns about his well-being have escalated since September 27, when the Telegram channel of the Union Councils of Country Students reported his transfer to the prison’s hospital and his placement in solitary confinement. 

Vosoghian serves as deputy secretary of the Trade Union Council at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, according to information received by IranWire.

But a source said that the young man was probably incarcerated because of his insistence on providing medication to her ailing mother, who was jailed two weeks before his arrest.

“Mohammed Mahdi deeply cares for his mother, and her health condition in prison greatly worries him. Consequently, he persistently sought her medication in prison, appealing to both the judicial and security authorities. But each attempt resulted in insults and yielded no positive results,” the source explained.

“It is possible that these persistent efforts upset them, prompting them to seek retribution,” the source added.

His mother, Masoumeh Yavari, a housewife and former political prisoner, was arrested on September 5. 

Despite suffering from various chronic and painful illnesses, she has not been provided with the necessary medications.

Arrested Two Weeks After His Mother

On the night of September 20, agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Protection Unit raided the residence of Mohammad Mehdi Vosoghian and his parents in the city of Golpayegan, in central Isfahan province, and apprehended the second-year university student.

In a brief phone call the same night, an unidentified individual informed the family that he was being held in Dastgerd prison in Isfahan.

Since his arrest, Vosoghian has had no contact with his family, but an informed source told IranWire he was seen in the prison clinic and that his physical condition appeared to be “critical.”

On September 23, HRANA news agency reported that the young man had been transferred to a “detention center of IRGC intelligence” in Golpayegan.

A second source told IranWire that his mother Masoumeh Yavari, who has been kept in solitary confinement at Dowlat Abad prison in Isfahan, was deeply distressed upon learning of her son’s arrest. 

This 45-year-old mother, who suffers chronic and painful ailments such as lumbar disc and heart problems, as well as thyroid conditions, has been transferred to the prison hospital.

Having undergone back surgery two years ago to remove two discs, she recently had another disc protrusion. 

Being detained, isolated and subjected to interrogation is extremely challenging for her, according to the source. 

The specific accusations against Yavari remain unknown, and IranWire has been unable to obtain information regarding the charges brought against her son.

Yavari was first detained during protests sparked by the disputed 2009 presidential elections. 

She faced charges of “waging war against God” and “supporting” the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.

Yavari was released from Tehran’s Evin prison in 2013 after three years of incarceration.

The Father Threatened with Arrest

During Yavari’s latest arrest, her son Mohammad Mahdi was present at home, and the authorities confiscated his phone and laptop, according to the second IranWire source.

The individuals who apprehended the young man warned his father, Mohsen Vosoghian, of imminent arrest, saying: “We’ll come shortly to take you away.”

Based on information obtained by IranWire, Mohsen Vosoghian is a former political prisoner who was arrested in the 1980s on the charge of collaborating with the People’s Mojahedin Organization.

Six months later, security forces admitted to an error and released him from prison.