QAZVIN, Iran:Late at night on Jan. 10, Dr. Alireza Golchini was arrested by security forces in the city of Qazvin, according to his family.
His cousin, Nima Golchini, who lives in Toronto, said Alireza was beaten in front of his wife and son during the arrest and suffered broken ribs.
“You’re doing your practice like anybody else and they come towards you, seven, eight people. He’s not a murderer, he is not a thief. He’s a doctor of the country. And they treated him like this,” Nima said.
For 48 hours, the family did not know where he had been taken. A brief phone call later confirmed he was alive and being held in prison.
“He said to family that ‘I’m alive’ and that’s it, the phone conversation disconnected,” Nima said. “It was less than a couple of seconds.”
Although Golchini has since been released pending trial, his case is among many reported detentions following a violent crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran. Rights groups say thousands were killed during the unrest, which began in late December over economic conditions before evolving into broader anti-government demonstrations.
The protests spread across the country before authorities imposed a crackdown in early January, amid reported phone and internet blackouts.
According to his cousin, Golchini had previously been barred from working in state hospitals but continued offering medical assistance during the protests through social media.
“He’s a brave man. He believes in what he has sworn, to cure the people,” Nima said.
