Prisoners Whose Price of Freedom Was Their Lives
Behnam Mahjoubi, an ideological prisoner, died six days after being transferred to the intensive care unit of Laqman Hospital. Saleha Hosseini, Behnam Mahjoubi’s wife, told Radio Farda that disregard for physicians’ opinion regarding his inability to withstand imprisonment, delayed medical attention, and postponement of his hospital transfer worsened his physical condition and ultimately led to this ideological prisoner falling into a coma.
Mr. Mahjoubi was sentenced to two years in prison after participating in a Gonabadi dervish gathering in Tehran in February 2018, and his sentence was carried out on June 21st, despite medical opinion that he was unable to tolerate imprisonment.
The process that claimed Behnam Mahjoubi’s life within a few months has been repeated for many other political and ideological prisoners, and over the past years, dozens of such prisoners have lost their lives in detention facilities.
According to Islamic Republic laws, responsibility for prisoners’ health rests with the judiciary and the prison organization. However, officials of these institutions, along with security agencies, evade accountability and refuse to accept responsibility through concealment, falsification of narratives, and pressure on prisoners’ and the deceased’s families.
From Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani, a writer who was abducted by Ministry of Intelligence agents on March 13, 1994, and killed in prison nine months later on November 25, 1994, labeled as natural death, to Behnam Mahjoubi, whom the Prison Authority claimed “deliberately and of his own volition, without consulting a doctor, consumed multiple doses of his own and others’ medications simultaneously in prison”—the pattern persists.
Saeed Emami, a high-ranking Ministry of Intelligence officer and prime suspect in serial murders, revealed in a speech in Hamadan, whose audio file was released, that in prison, Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was given one of his favorite foods—roasted wheat—and because this food causes constipation and digestive blockage, interrogators gave him “an enema made with potassium” instead of a laxative; an enema that stopped Saidi Sirjani’s heart and took his life.
The cause of his death was listed as a heart attack. However, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wrote in his memoirs that “Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the judiciary, reported the medical examiner’s findings regarding Saidi Sirjani’s death in prison, saying it was natural death.”
No accurate statistics exist on the number of prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons. However, in the early years following the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the 1980s, no explanation was given for prisoners’ deaths, and prisoners tortured to death were merely handed over to their families, without the right to ask about their children’s fate.
In recent years, however, Islamic Republic officials have claimed in many cases that prisoners committed suicide or attempted to portray their deaths as natural. This is while families have repeatedly told media outlets about the systematic elimination of their children by the judicial and security system through torture or denial of access to medical facilities.
Akbar Mohammadi
During clashes at Tehran University Avenue in June 1999, Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist, was arrested along with his brother Manouchehr Mohammadi and initially sentenced to death. Although his death sentence was later commuted to 15 years imprisonment, Mr. Mohammadi died in Evin Prison in 2006.
Goljahan Ashrafpur, his mother, explained the process of her son’s death in prison: “Akbar was severely mistreated in prison. He was tortured. He was broken. He underwent three surgeries. The doctor said he should not return to prison and prison conditions were deadly for him. According to the doctor’s testimony, my son’s body had become infected in prison and he needed to be treated abroad. But they returned him to prison. No matter how much we protested, said he needed rest, needed treatment, and the doctor testified, they refused. When they took Akbar, I felt he would not return. When he returned to prison, he went on hunger strike in protest. They paid no attention and would not allow him to be treated.
The cause of Akbar Mohammadi’s death was listed by prison officials as a heart attack.
Hadi Saber
In June 2011, Hadi Saber’s body was brought out of Evin Prison. A religious-national activist who had gone on a hunger strike in protest of events leading to Hale Sahabi’s death, he died as a result of a heart attack caused by the hunger strike. Farida Jamshidi, Mr. Saber’s wife, announced that “my husband died due to prison officials’ negligence and failure to attend to his condition.”
Firoozeh Saber, Hadi Saber’s sister, explained: “My brother becomes ill at 4 a.m. on Friday, has severe chest pain, and whatever he says and his cellmates say, prison officials pay no attention. He has two heart attacks but they still pay no attention, and after about six hours they take him to Modares Hospital, which is already too late. They take him very late and this delay causes my brother to lose his life.”
Sixty-four political prisoners who were cellmates with Mr. Saber in Ward 350 testified in a letter that “Hadi Saber, on the eighth day of his hunger strike, was severely beaten by individuals believed to be security and intelligence officers at the infirmary.” Mr. Saber’s family also filed a complaint with the judiciary, stating “they must explain how someone who is on a hunger strike and is ill is brought to the clinic and instead of treatment, is beaten? This is a tragedy and we will not let it pass.”
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, the then-spokesman for the judiciary, however, claimed on the eve of the first anniversary of Hadi Saber’s death that he died of natural causes and that the latest medical examiner’s opinions stated that no one was at fault in this matter.
Alborz Qasemi-Shal
A first captain in the Navy and deputy commander of the special forces unit in Rasht, according to his family, was in perfect health on May 13, 2008, when he was arrested, but his body was brought out of prison. Hamid Qasemi-Shal, Alborz’s brother, who witnessed his brother going blind and then dying in prison, said: “During a visit to my sister, he said his eyes were getting blurry. We said it was the effects of prison and his eyes had weakened. I asked Alborz at dinner what you’re doing? He said I can’t see anything. I said what do you mean? He said I see only darkness, I can’t see anything. We took Alborz to the prison infirmary and brought an eye specialist, he looked and said there’s no problem. I said he can’t see. He said he’s malingering. From that day on, my brother’s health deteriorated very rapidly, to the point where he couldn’t bathe. He had completely lost his vision and had no bladder control. We took him to Evin Prison infirmary several times but they couldn’t find his vein anymore. The doctor wrote that he was unable to be in prison and should be with his family. But they refused. They claimed he had cancer and needed chemotherapy. Jafari Dolatabad (the then-Tehran prosecutor) refused. They kept my brother in the infirmary so long that he fell into a coma. Then they took him to the emergency room of Shohada Tajrish Hospital and he died. They said he had stomach cancer that spread to his brain and caused brain hemorrhage. We don’t know if that’s true; we only know that if they had allowed treatment, perhaps he would be alive now.”
The Qasemi-Shal brothers were accused of espionage and sentenced to death, but upon file review, they were acquitted of the charges and Hamid Qasemi-Shal was released from prison.
Amirhossein Hashmatsaran
On March 6, 2009, Amirhossein Hashmatsaran, who had been imprisoned in Rajaie Shahr Prison in Karaj for more than four years, died in Rajaie Shahr Hospital.
Mohammad Reza Faqihi, Mr. Hashmatsaran’s lawyer, told Radio Farda that “the prison made no serious effort to treat the sick prisoner, and given that the prison is responsible for prisoners’ health, the prison officials’ negligence is certain.”
According to Mr. Hashmatsaran’s lawyer, this political prisoner had suffered from heart problems months before and “his condition had deteriorated many times.” Nevertheless, the Shahriar Revolutionary Prosecutor left the requests of Mr. Hashmatsaran’s wife, Aleh Nazjou, for this prisoner’s treatment unanswered.
Amirhossein Hashmatsaran was tried in 2004 on the charge of founding a group called “National Unity Front of Iran” and was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court.
Mohsen Degmechi
On April 28, 2011, a well-known bazaar merchant who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison died while, according to his wife, he had no problems and was completely healthy when arrested.
Maryam Elangi, Mr. Degmechi’s wife, said: “The illness began in September 2010, exactly one year after his arrest and in prison. For three months they delayed taking him to a doctor and did nothing, and when they decided to take him to a specialist, it was already too late. They took him to the hospital and performed abdominal surgery. They removed part of his spleen and at that time diagnosed that he had cancer. But the problem is that no one loses their life in such a short time, and with medication and medical care, the disease is controlled, but my husband was deprived of treatment and died within 95 days of the start of his illness. With proper medical attention, such a tragedy could not have happened at all.”
Mr. Degmechi’s wife said: “I went many times and said with any amount of bail, just give him a few days of leave. A leave on a hospital bed so he can receive treatment and then take him back to prison, but they didn’t even agree to that. My husband had only a six-month chemotherapy course. If it had been completed, this would not have happened.”
Vahid Sayadi Nasiri
On December 11, 2018, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his Facebook activities, insulting sacred values and the Supreme Leader, and propaganda against the system, died while his sister, Aleh Sayadi Nasiri, told Radio Farda that he had been on a hunger strike for several days.
Vahid Sayadi Nasiri had gone on a hunger strike in protest of failure to observe the principle of separating prisoners according to their crimes.
Mansour Radpour
In June 2012, Mansour Radpour died in prison while, according to his wife, he had no history of illness but during his imprisonment had constantly suffered from stomach problems and complained about why he was not being transferred outside prison for treatment.
His daughter Mahsa Radpour, who had visited her father two weeks before, announced: “The medical examiner said the cause of death was a stroke, but when we saw my father’s body, it didn’t resemble someone who had died from a stroke at all. His whole body was wounded and bruised and there were clear signs of beating on his body. I’m certain they killed him because someone who has a stroke doesn’t have their body and limbs beaten up like that.”
Mr. Radpour was arrested in May 2007 and was sentenced to five years in prison by the Karaj Islamic Revolutionary Court on the charge of cooperating with the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, later increased to eight years.
Shahrrokh Zamani
Shahrrokh Zamani, a building painter and labor activist who had been imprisoned since 2011 on the charge of attempting to form workers’ organizations, including the painters’ union, and sentenced to 11 years in prison, died on September 13, 2015, in Rajaie Shahr Prison.
Prison officials listed the cause of death as a stroke, but Nina Zamani, Mr. Zamani’s daughter, announced that her father “had no physical problems and was completely healthy.”
Afshin Asanlo
The cause of death of Afshin Asanlo on June 21, 2013, was stated by prison officials as a heart attack. Farshte Asanlo, his sister, however, announced that her brother had no history of heart disease and was healthy at the last visit.
Farshte Asanlo had told the International Campaign for Human Rights that hospital nurses said he was brought to the hospital around 8 p.m., but he had died long before arriving at the hospital.
Afshin Asanlo, 42, a labor activist and brother of Mansour Asanlo, a member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Union, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 on the charge of conspiracy and gathering with intent to act against national security.
Talib Basati
A nursing student and emergency worker in Malekshah city, Ilam, arrested in connection with December 2017 protests, died in prison. Jalal Mirzaei, then-representative of Ilam in parliament, listed the cause of his death as a heart attack.
Mr. Basati was arrested at his home on February 19, 2018, and his body was handed over to his family on March 27 of the same year. BBC reported that Mr. Basati’s death certificate stated he died due to “brain trauma” and signs of beating and injury were visible on the deceased’s body.
Mohammad Raji
In March 2018, Mohammad Raji’s daughter, one of the Gonabadi dervishes, confirmed in an interview with Radio Farda that police authorities stated her father fell into a coma and died as a result of blows received.
Tayebeh Raji said her father was severely beaten when arrested in early March of that year and was in serious condition but moved his hand, and after that had no contact with the family.
The Noor Majzoban website, which covered news about Gonabadi dervishes, reported that Mr. Raji was killed as a result of blows received during interrogation at a police detention center.
Mohammad Raji was a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and had been chemically wounded in the Iran-Iraq War.
Alireza Shirmohammadi
On the evening of Monday, June 9, 2019, two prisoners attacked Alireza Shirmohammadi in Fashafouyeh Prison and killed him. Mr. Shirmohammadi was arrested during August 2018 protests and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
This political prisoner was killed in prison while he had largely gone on hunger strike in protest of personal insecurity and inhumane conditions in Fashafouyeh Prison.
Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kasb, the lawyer of Alireza Shirmohammadi, stated in an interview with ILNA that two murderers in the same ward were also kept in solitary confinement cells that were always locked, but it is unclear how that night those two brought Mr. Shirmohammadi into the cell and killed him.
Prisoners Said to Have Committed Suicide
Dozens of prisoners have died in Islamic Republic prisons over the years, and prison officials and judicial and security authorities attributed their deaths to suicide.
Omid Reza Mirseyafi
A young blogger who was imprisoned on February 9, 2009, died 42 days later in Laqman Hospital, and prison officials attributed his death to drug poisoning.
Omid Reza Mirseyafi had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of propaganda against the system and insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Mr. Mirseyafi’s lawyer, told his family that in response to the autopsy, the cause of death was listed as “consuming 30 to 40 propranolol pills.”
Amir Parviz Mirseyafi, Omid Reza’s brother, however, said in an interview: “I saw the body myself. His left ear was severely bleeding. His nose was full of blood clots. His face was bruised. His shoulders and lower back were bruised. He had a skull fracture. The sheet in which his body was wrapped was completely bloodied underneath. They told us that he had taken pills, his pressure dropped and he died. This cannot be true and I’m certain he was beaten. I know from being under the beating his condition worsened and he was not treated and he died.”
Dr. Hossam Firouzi, Omid Reza Mirseyafi’s cellmate, also testified that at the prison infirmary, in response to Omid Reza’s insistence on treatment, he was “beaten and told he was malingering.”
Kavous Seid Amami
On February 10, 2018, Ramin Seid Amami, son of Kavous Seid Amami, announced on his Twitter page that his father died in prison two weeks after his arrest and that prison officials claimed it was “suicide.” The Seid Amami family rejected this claim.
Kavous Seid Amami, a Ph.D. in sociology and faculty member at the Faculty of Islamic Education and Political Science at Imam Sadiq University, was also the CEO of the “Parsian Heritage Wildlife Institute.”
Ibrahim Lotfolahi
On December 7, 2007, Ibrahim Lotfolahi, a student at Payam Noor University in Sanandaj, was arrested in front of the university and died eight days later in a detention center in that city.
Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer for the Lotfolahi family, said: “The court confirmed the prosecutor’s ruling of suicide and announced that no murder had occurred. We objected and said that given that the medical examiner’s opinion referred to signs of beating and nose bleeding, we are requesting a re-examination and a petition for exhumation, but unfortunately neither the prosecutor nor the Sanandaj prosecutor agreed and said that the previous medical examiner’s opinion had been issued and exhumation has no legal basis. They said he hanged himself with a shower rod in the prison bathroom and committed suicide. While we believed the issue should be clarified and the family should have peace of mind about what exactly happened, but unfortunately it was not agreed to.”
Valiolah Feiz Mahdi
Valiolah Feiz Mahdi was arrested in September 2001 and on September 6, 2006, Evin Prison officials officially announced his death, claiming he “hanged himself in his cell and died after being transferred to the hospital.”
He was arrested on the charge of membership in the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization and was sentenced to death and, according to his cellmates, was on a hunger strike in protest of the treatment of Goherdashte Prison authorities, and after falling into a coma, was transferred to Shariati Hospital.
Mohammad Javad Parndakh
Mohammad Javad Parndakh, a chemical engineering student at Isfahan University of Technology, was summoned to the Isfahan Intelligence Office after participating in a student gathering during June 2009 protests, and his lifeless body was found two days later.
Farhad Tajeri, a parliament representative who was a member of the follow-up committee, along with the head of intelligence, visited Mr. Parndakh’s home and asked them to announce that their son died in an accident. However, state news agency IRNA claimed that Mohammad Javad Parndakh was one of the main instigators of unrest in Isfahan and had committed suicide.
The Parndakh family rejected these claims and filed a complaint seeking clarification of their son’s murder; a complaint that was not accepted and the case was closed. His brother, Sadegh Parndakh, said: “We are an ethnic minority; they won’t even hand us over, they won’t even accept a complaint. What can we do? How should we follow up? Our parents also say you’re all that’s left and we’re afraid something will happen to you. That’s why we’ve left the case to God. God will judge.”
Vahid Heidari
Vahid Heidari, 22, a street vendor and protester from Arak, was arrested on December 10, 2017, and his body was buried on Saturday, December 16.
Judicial officials accused him of buying and selling drugs and claimed he committed suicide in detention. A claim rejected by Vahid Heidari’s uncle and civil activists and lawyers in Arak.
Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, was arrested for pursuing the murder case of Vahid Heidari in prison.
Sina Qanbari
Sina Qanbari, a 22-year-old young man and another detainee of December 2017 protests, was arrested on December 10 of that year in Tehran and his body was handed over to his family on December 19.
Judicial officials claimed he committed suicide in the quarantine bathroom of Evin Prison, but the Committee to Follow Up on December 2017 Arrests reported that based on two “eyewitnesses,” Sina Qanbari had been interrogated two days before his death, and “after detention, he tells his cellmates that he was beaten up in such a way that some parts of his body were severely bruised.”
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Prosecutor General of the country, claimed on December 21 of that year that Sina Qanbari was an addict and committed suicide. A project and scenario that was also implemented for other prisoners killed in prison that same year.
Nasser Albushoke Darfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamsi
Nasser Albushoke Darfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamsi, three young Arabs who were arrested in Ahvaz in February 2012 during unrest in Shush and Hamidiyeh cities.
Nasser Albushoke, a 19-year-old young man who, according to his family, had no political activity or connection to Shush and Hamidiyeh unrest: “They said he killed himself while there were signs of beating and injury on Nasser’s face, chest and body. His neck was bruised as if a rope had been around his neck. Then they said you have no right to hold a ceremony. My uncle objected and they didn’t give the body. They took Nasser’s body to the morgue of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz and it stayed there for 11 days. Then they gave the body on the condition that the family remain silent and say nothing and take him out of Ahvaz. They took the body to Ramshir city (Khalafabad) and buried him there.”
Mohammad Kaabi, another Arab citizen, was 35 years old and only one phone call from the Intelligence Office closed his case and death in the judiciary and security apparatus: “They only made one phone call and told the family we buried his body ourselves, don’t pursue it, you have no right to hold any ceremony.”
Mohammad Kaabi, a law student and Arab activist in Khuzestan Province. According to his family: “They arrested Mohammad at home along with his father and sister. They released his father and sister but took Mohammad and we had no news of him until about 20 days after his arrest, when an anonymous call with no number came to the family. A person on the line said I’m calling from the Intelligence Office; Mohammad is dead and we’ve buried him somewhere. Don’t pursue it. This person said you have no right to hold any ceremony and remain silent.”
Reza Moghamsi, another Arab citizen, lost his life in Ahvaz Intelligence Detention Center; little information has been released about him and his family has remained silent.
Deaths That Were Officially Recognized
Among prison deaths, only a small number were officially recognized by the government and the families’ complaints were taken to court, although according to families, fair trials never took place. The complaint cases of many families whose prisoners died in prisons were closed at the initial stages or remained unresolved.
Zahra Kazemi
On June 23, 2003, while photographing a gathering of families of political prisoners outside Evin Prison, Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, was arrested and died 18 days later on July 10 of that year in Beheshti Hospital in Tehran.
Mohsen Armin, then vice-speaker of the sixth parliament and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, pointed an accusatory finger from the official parliament floor at Saeed Mortazavi and said: “Zahra Kazemi tells the interrogators that during interrogation at the prosecutor’s office, especially from the head, she was beaten. On July 5 at 12 at night, she is transferred to the hospital and at 6 in the morning on the sixth, her condition worsens due to brain hemorrhage and falls into a coma and experiences brain death. The cause of the hemorrhage is identified as brain contusion and skull fracture. Zahra Kazemi is kept under artificial respiration until July 19 despite brain death, and after that date her death is announced. Judge Mortazavi, after her death, outside the scope of responsibility and without notifying the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, summons the head of the ministry’s foreign media (Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaqhat) and asks him to announce in an interview that her cause of death was a stroke.”
The special committee of the then-presidency identified the cause of Ms. Kazemi’s death as “skull fracture, brain hemorrhage and its complications as a result of a hard object striking the head or the head hitting a hard object.”
According to Shirin Ebadi, Zahra Kazemi’s family lawyer, however, “they finally announced that the killer is not identified. While we know that in Evin Prison 24-hour filming is conducted in solitary cells, and Zahra Kazemi was also in solitary. While it was reflected in the case that Mr. Mortazavi, as prosecutor, was engaged in interrogation until 3 in the morning in her cell.”
Ali Yunesi, former Minister of Intelligence, revealed 14 years later on March 27, 2018, in an interview that Zahra Kazemi apparently suffered injuries during the inspection process, property handover, and transfer to detention, and not during interrogation, “due to resistance to hand over her belongings, was beaten and her head hit the street curb and resulted in her brain hemorrhage, and if she had been transferred to the hospital in time, she would certainly have been saved.”
Sattar Beheshti
Sattar Beheshti was arrested in 2012 for publishing critical posts about the Islamic Republic on his blog by the cybercrime police and died as a result of torture injuries sustained during detention.
The court found Sattar Beheshti’s death to be “quasi-intentional murder” and sentenced his killer, a police officer, to three years in prison.
In the final court ruling, Akbar Taghizadeh, a police officer and main suspect in Sattar Beheshti’s murder case, was sentenced to three years in prison, 74 lashes, and two years forced residence in Bandar Abbas.
Sattar Beheshti’s mother and his defense lawyer, who believe intentional murder occurred and in protest of the “quasi-intentional” characterization of Sattar Beheshti’s murder, did not attend that court.
After Sattar Beheshti’s death, 41 political prisoners in Evin Prison testified in a letter that he was in Ward 350 of Evin Prison on October 31 and November 1, while he had been severely tortured and signs of various torture marks were visible all over his body.
Kahrizak Deaths
Amir Javadi-far, Mohammad Kamrani, and Mohsen Rouhlamini are three victims of Kahrizak Detention Center who lost their lives under torture and mistreatment by officers. The Islamic Republic accepted responsibility for their deaths. Based on the Kahrizak case court ruling, two suspects in the case were sentenced to qisas (retribution) for the murder of these three who were arrested after the post-election protests began.
Nine other suspects were also sentenced to imprisonment, fine payment, financial penalties, temporary suspension from service, and lashing, and one suspect was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
However, the families of Kahrizak victims, by forgoing qisas for two agents of these murders, demanded accountability from the main perpetrators of this matter, namely Saeed Mortazavi, Hassan Zare Dehkordi (known as Judge Haddad), and Ali Akbar Heydari-far. Ultimately, Saeed Mortazavi was sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial services and five years dismissal from government services and 200,000 tomans in fines.
The Islamic Republic evaded responsibility for Ramin Aghazadeh Qahremani and Ahmad Nejati Kargar, who after being released from Kahrizak Detention Center died as a result of injuries from mistreatment.
Unknown Fates
What is common in all cases of detainees and prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons is the refusal of judicial and security officials to accept responsibility and the efforts of government officials at various levels to cover up and falsify the true account of what happened to these prisoners.
In some cases, there is not even falsification, and none of the government officials are willing to provide any explanation about the fate of the detainees, to the point that more than two decades have passed since the fate of Pirouz Davani, Saeed Zeinali, and Farshte Alizadeh remains unknown.
Pirouz Davani, a writer and translator and publisher of Pirouz magazine, has been missing for 22 years and his body has not been found. He left his home on September 23, 1998, and his brother, Hossein Davani, says: “They made sure there was no trace of my brother left, to the extent that they didn’t even open a case for Pirouz’s abduction. In April 1998, about four months before Pirouz Davani went missing, Mr. Razini told my brother to stop writing, otherwise you will disappear without a trace. They did exactly that. There is no trace of my brother left.”
Saeed Zeinali, a computer science graduate from Tehran University, was arrested during University Avenue protests of 1999 at his residence, and after 21 years, his family has no news of his fate. Akram Moghabbi, Saeid Zeinali’s mother, announced: “Three armed officers came and said they would question Saeid for 10 minutes. Saeid was 22 years old when arrested. Two or three months after his arrest, he called from prison and said I’m fine, follow up my affairs, but after that I have no news of my son.”
According to Saeid Zeinali’s mother, Farshte Alizadeh is another detainee of University Avenue 1999 whose fate is unclear. Mrs. Moghabbi says that until a few years ago she saw Farshte Alizadeh’s mother, who was pursuing her daughter’s fate, but after her death, has no information about whether other family members are pursuing the case.
Zahra Bani Ya’qub and Mehrdad Taleshi
But these are not the only political and ideological prisoners facing such fates. Zahra Bani Ya’qub and Mehrdad Taleshi are just two examples of non-political detainees who died in detention.
Zahra Bani Ya’qub, a medical student who voluntarily went to a remote village in Iran to complete a medical service project, was arrested on October 20, 2007, in one of Hamadan’s parks on the charge of what was called “committing an obvious crime” by officers of the headquarters for commanding the good, and transferred to the department of offenses. Two days later, detention center officials claimed she committed suicide using a fabric placard in the corridor of the second floor of the detention center.
Ms. Bani Ya’qub’s family and lawyers rejected this claim, but their follow-ups and complaints ultimately led nowhere. According to her father: “They stole the case, destroyed documents and evidence of the crime, including my daughter’s clothes.”
The family of Mehrdad Taleshi, a 21-year-old young man from Divandareh, also whose body was handed over to his family in February 2021, a few days after his arrest, called the police statement about his death from cardiac arrest false. A relative of Mr. Taleshi told Radio Farda that the family received their son’s body while there were signs of surgery and sutures on his head.
These names are only the names of those prisoners whose death in prison has been reported in the media. Many other prisoners’ deaths have not been reported due to security pressure on their families or families’ lack of access to media. Families who buried their imprisoned children at night due to security pressure and were deprived of the right to mourn.
Source: Radio Farda
