Tehran’s Grand Prison; Political Prisoners Protest Following Transfer Accompanied by Greater Deprivation
This Wednesday afternoon, September 9th, dozens of political prisoners held in Ward 5 of Tehran’s Grand Prison were transferred to Ward 2 of the same prison, which previously served as a detention facility for drug addicts. Dozens of these individuals protested following their transfer to this location. The transfer of these prisoners occurs at a time when most of these individuals are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and have, since their arrest and entry into the prison, made purchases of items such as refrigerators, televisions, and the like, yet they have not been permitted to move any of the items they have purchased.
According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the Iranian Human Rights Activists Network, this Wednesday afternoon, September 9th, 82 political prisoners held in Ward 5 of Tehran’s Grand Prison were transferred to Ward 2 of the same prison, which previously served as a detention facility for drug addicts.
These political prisoners, who are generally from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, have stated that since their arrest and entry into the prison they have made purchases of items such as refrigerators, televisions, and the like, and now following their transfer to this ward they have not been permitted to move their belongings. They have also stated that they have spent considerable time repairing the walls and ceiling of the previous ward and installing curtains on beds, and now all their efforts and expenses have gone to waste.
A source familiar with the transfer of these prisoners and the conditions of the detention facility for these prisoners in Ward 2 of Tehran’s Grand Prison told Hrana: “From this afternoon, prison officials told the political prisoners held in Ward 5, Education Unit 2, Hall 2 of Tehran’s Grand Prison to prepare themselves for transfer to another ward. The prisoners resisted the prison officials’ demands and ultimately, with the entry of a special prison guard unit into the ward, the prisoners were removed and transferred to Hall 4 of Ward 2 of Tehran’s Grand Prison. This hall has 3 rooms, each with 24 beds, and given the number of individuals transferred to this ward, on that very first night at least 10 people will be sleeping on the floor. On the other hand, in the previous year there were 16 bathrooms and 16 toilet facilities, but in this ward there are only 6 toilet facilities and 4 bathrooms, most of which are broken and unusable. In the previous ward there were more than 10 working telephones and in this ward there are only two working phones with the rest broken. Furthermore, this ward lacks basic sanitary facilities and is infested with cockroaches, lice, bedbugs, and so forth, and since the prisoners’ arrival at the new location, out of fear of coronavirus in the ward they have been disinfecting the ward with minimal materials and basic equipment.”
Some of these prisoners, in protest of their transfer to this location, have refused to receive their government-issued food rations and have informed prison officials that they will continue their protest until their return to the previous ward.
Khaled Pirzadeh, Pourya Mirzaei, Ali Bi Kas, Ahmad Ali Hatami, Mehdi Hasani, Javad Adinehvand, Mohammad Mahdi Abdollahzadeh, Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeid Tamjidi, Vahid Bagheri, Mohammad Rajabi, Ali Asghar Karamati, Danial Bakhshi, Mohammad Adam, Mohammad Baqir Souri, Omid Mirdarikound, Saeid Asadi, Mehrshad Saeidi Nia, Hossein Armand, Mohammad Alijani, Ali Qahremani, Reza Beyat, Reza Alidoost, Mohammad Rashidi, Ali Ghalickhani, Hadi Khatamian, Ehsan Ghazi, Navid (Mohammad) Lotfi, Sasan Niknafs, Hossein Nikcheh Farahani, Hamid Jahangiri, Mehdi Vahidi, Hassan Abbasi, Abolfazl Karimi, Mir Bahnud Esmaili, Iman Marzan Bakhshi, Abolfazl Shahbazi, Javad Balandjah, Amir Hossein Keshavarzi, Davoud Ghaffari, Mojtaba Hossein Khani, Abolfazl Toosi, Hossein Jafari, Shahin Nazarzadeh, Nader Arab Zadeh, Mehdi Bagheri, Ismail Zaraian, Akbar Faraji, Sahel Rezaei, Sina Khatiri, Mehdi Qalandari, Kianosh Jamali, Hossein Reihani, Kianosh Valilahi, Mehdi Naghi, Saeid Kashani are among those transferred.
Source: Hrana
