On January 15, 2023, prison officials at Ardabil Central Prison shaved the head of journalist Ebrahim Rashidi after he was transferred from the Ardabil Intelligence Office detention center.
According to a source informed to DeFFI, Ebrahim Rashidi was arrested on December 30, 2023, at his father’s house in the village of “Mirkandi” in Meshginshahr County. Intelligence officers detained this journalist without presenting a judicial warrant and later transferred him to the public and revolutionary prosecutor’s office in this city, after which he was taken to the Ardabil Intelligence Office detention center.
On January 15, 2023, after spending 10 days in the Ardabil Intelligence Office detention center, Ebrahim Rashidi was transferred to the central prison of the city. Upon his arrival at the prison, officials engaged in an insulting act by shaving his head.
This action appears to be aimed at intensifying psychological pressure on Ebrahim Rashidi, and it is even illegal under the laws enacted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to Article 134 of the Executive Regulations of the Prison Organization, “shaving or excessively cutting the hair and beard of a prisoner without their consent is prohibited.”
The first branch of the public and revolutionary prosecutor’s office in Meshginshahr has charged Ebrahim Rashidi with “propaganda against the regime” and “spreading falsehoods.” This Azerbaijani journalist and researcher has faced multiple arrests, torture, and imprisonment over the past two decades due to his civil activities, critical reporting, and independent research in the prisons of Ahar, Meshginshahr, Ardabil, Tabriz, Urmia, and Evin.