(AFP) ISTANBUL — The opposition Syrian National Council on Saturday accused Iran of “participation” in the bloody crackdown on protests in Syria and called on Tehran to stop supporting the Damascus regime.“The Council condemns the participation of the Iranian regime in killing Syrians who are demanding freedom and urges it to stop taking part in quelling the Syrian revolution, in order to protect the relations between the two people,” Samir Neshar, a member of the SNC’s executive committee, said at a news conference in Istanbul.The rebel Free Syrian Army claimed Friday to have captured five Iranian military officers in the restive city of Homs and urged Tehran to “immediately” withdraw any additional troops it may have in Syria.In a statement, the FSA said the Iranians captured “were working under the orders of the intelligence services of the Syrian air force” and had no valid papers to reside or work in Syria.

RAHANA-Advar News website reported that on January 22, when Abdollah Momeni was taken to Evin prison’s infirmary, he refused to stay because he was assaulted and abused by the staff.Other political prisoners shared with their visiting families that several hours later, Momeni was transferred back to the infirmary due to severe stomach pains. No one has seen or heard from him since then, suggesting that he might have been transferred to a different location.Earlier on Monday, in a brief telephone conversation with his family, Momeni shared that Evin prison officials had only given him one injection as a treatment for his ailments.The family of Abdollah Momeni has expressed great concern for his health and whereabouts. The family members explained that political prisoners in Evin prison are given short restricted access to telephones, resulting in the families staying uninformed about the health and circumstances of their loved ones.Fatemeh Adinehvnad, the wife of this member of the student alumni organization (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vejdat) told Advar News that on Monday, when Abdollah Momeni did not show up at the weekly family visitation in prison, nobody would give them an explanation regarding his whereabouts or health.

According to reports, inhumane pressures have increased against political prisoners in the Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. An example of these pressures is the reduction of the quality and quantity of the prisoners’ food. The dinner given to political prisoners which was one egg, one potatoes and one piece of bread has been replaced with 15 grams of halva and a small, thin piece of factory bread and the quantity of all other meals given to prisoners has been lowered as well.On the other hand, in a coordinated measure, simultaneously with the reduction of the quantity and quality of food, the prison shops that usually sold expired canned foods have largely stopped selling canned foods and other goods.The head of Gohardasht Prison, Mohammad Mardani, had threatened political prisoners before this that if sanctions were increased, the first people that would have to pay were political prisoners.In other reports, ailing political prisoners who are taken to the infirmary in critical condition are also pressured. For example, an ailing political prisoner who is prescribed 30 pills for his ailment only receives 10 of the pills.Notably, telephones used by political prisoners have been cut off since January 2011. A number of political prisoners such as Arjang Davoudi and Loqman and Zaniar Moradi have been banned from family visits with their families. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran