Prisoners Whose Freedom Cost Them Their Lives

Behnam Mahjoubi, a political prisoner, died six days after being transferred to the intensive care unit at Laqman Hospital. Saleha Hosseini, Behnam Mahjoubi’s wife, told Radio Farda that disregard for doctors’ medical opinion regarding his inability to tolerate imprisonment, lack of timely medical care, and delays in his hospital transfer worsened his physical condition and ultimately led to this political prisoner slipping into a coma.

Mr. Mahjoubi was sentenced to two years in prison following his participation in a Gonabadi Dervish gathering in Tehran in February 2018, and his sentence was carried out on June 21st despite medical opinion stating he could not tolerate imprisonment.

The process that claimed Behnam Mahjoubi’s life within 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.

According to Islamic Republic laws, the judiciary and prison organization are responsible for prisoners’ health. However, officials of these institutions, along with security agencies, avoid accountability and refuse to accept responsibility through cover-ups, falsification of narratives, and pressure on families of prisoners and the deceased.

From Ali-Akbar Saeidi Sirjani, a writer who was abducted by Ministry of Intelligence agents on March 15, 1994, and was killed in prison on November 26, 1995, after nine months of no news, his death declared natural, to Behnam Mahjoubi, whom the General Prison Administration claimed “of his own will and decision and without consulting a doctor, arbitrarily consumed multiple drugs simultaneously in prison.”

Saeed Emami, a senior Ministry of Intelligence official and the first accused in the serial murders, in a speech in Hamedan whose audio file was released, said that Ali-Akbar Saeidi Sirjani was given one of his favorite foods, barley, and because this food causes constipation and intestinal obstruction, interrogators gave him a “suppository made of potassium” instead of a laxative; a suppository that stopped Saeidi Sirjani’s heart and took his life.

The cause of his death was declared a heart attack. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the then-president, however, wrote in his memoirs that “Mr. Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the judiciary, reported the forensic medical report on the death of Mr. Saeidi Sirjani in prison, stating it was a natural death.”

There is no precise statistics on the number of prisoners who have lost their lives in Islamic Republic prisons, but in the early years following the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the 1980s, no explanation was given regarding the cause of prisoners’ deaths, and prisoners who were killed under torture were only returned to their families’ corpses, without them having the right to question their children’s fate.

In recent years, however, in many cases, Islamic Republic officials have claimed that prisoners committed suicide, or have tried to make their deaths appear natural. This is despite families repeatedly stating in interviews with media outlets that their children were systematically eliminated by the judicial and security system through torture or by denying access to medical facilities.

Akbar Mohammadi

During clashes at Tehran University in June 1999, Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist, was arrested along with his brother Manouchehr Mohammadi and was initially sentenced to death. Although his death sentence was later changed to 15 years in prison, Mr. Mohammadi died in Evin Prison in 2006.

Golestan Ashrafpur, his mother, explained the process of her son’s death in prison: “They had severely tortured Akbar in prison. They had tortured him. He was in terrible condition. He underwent three surgeries. The doctor said he should not return to prison and prison conditions were lethal for him. According to the doctor’s testimony, my son’s body had become infected in prison and he needed to go abroad for treatment. But they returned him to prison. No matter how much we objected, said he needs rest and medical 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 a hunger strike in protest. They paid no attention and did not allow him to be treated. The cause of Akbar Mohammadi’s death, according to prison officials, was a heart attack.”

Hadi Saber

In June 2011, the body of Hadi Saber left Evin Prison. A religious national activist who had gone on a hunger strike in protest of the events that led to the death of Hale Sahabi, died as a result of a heart attack caused by his hunger strike. Farida Jamshidi, Mr. Saber’s spouse, announced that “my husband died because prison authorities neglected and did not pay attention to his condition.”

Firoozeh Saber, Hadi Saber’s sister, explained: “My brother on Friday at four in the morning started feeling bad, had severe chest pain, and whatever he and his cellmates said, prison officials did not pay attention. He had two heart attacks but they still did not pay attention, and after about six hours they took him to Modares Hospital, but it was too late. They took him too late and this delay caused my brother to lose his life.”

64 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 officials believed to be security and intelligence agents in the infirmary.” Mr. Saber’s family also filed a complaint with the judiciary and stated “they must explain how they take someone who is on a hunger strike and is sick to the clinic and instead of treating them, beat them? This is a tragedy and we will not let it pass.”

Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, then spokesman of the judiciary, however, claimed on the eve of the first anniversary of Hadi Saber’s death that he died of natural causes and the latest forensic medical opinions stated that no one was guilty in this regard.

Albarz Ghasemishal

Naval Captain First Class and deputy commander of the Rasht special forces unit, according to his family, was in complete health on May 13, 2008, when he was arrested, but his body was removed from prison. Hamid Ghasemishal, Albarz’s brother, who witnessed his brother’s blindness and then death 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. At dinner, I asked Albarz what are you doing? He said I can’t see anything. I said what do you mean? He said I only see darkness, I can’t see anything. We took Albarz to the prison clinic and brought an eye specialist who looked and said there’s nothing wrong. I said he can’t see. He said he’s faking. From that day on, my brother’s health declined very rapidly to the point where he couldn’t bathe. He had completely lost his vision and had no control over urination. Several times the Evin prison clinic had taken him but they could no longer find his veins. The doctor wrote that he cannot tolerate prison and should be with his family. But they refused. They claimed he had cancer and needed chemotherapy. Jafari Dolatabad (the then-prosecutor of Tehran) however refused. They kept my brother in the clinic so long that he went into a coma. Then they took him to Shahid Taleghani Hospital emergency and he died. They said he had stomach cancer that spread to his brain and caused brain hemorrhage. We don’t know if this claim is true, we only know that if they had allowed him medical care, he might be alive now.”

The Ghasemishal brothers had been accused of espionage and sentenced to death, but upon case review, they were cleared of the charges and Hamid Ghasemishal was released from prison.

Amirhossein Hashemtaran

On March 7, 2008, Amirhossein Hashemtaran, who had been imprisoned for more than four years in Rajaishahr Prison in Karaj, died in Rajaishahr Hospital.

Mohammad Reza Faqihi, Mr. Hashemtaran’s lawyer, in an interview with Radio Farda said 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. Hashemtaran’s lawyer, this political prisoner had suffered from a heart condition months before and “had become ill many times.” Nevertheless, the Shahryar revolutionary prosecutor left his wife Alaheh Nazju’s requests for treatment of this prisoner unanswered.

Amirhossein Hashemtaran was tried in 2004 on charges of founding a group called “Iran National Unity Front” and was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Shahryar revolutionary court.

Mohsen Doghmechi

On March 29, 2011, a well-known bazaar merchant who had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment died while, according to his wife, he had no problems when arrested and was in perfect health.

Maryam Elangi, Mr. Doghmechi’s wife, said: “The illness started in September 2010, exactly one year after his arrest and in prison. They delayed taking him to a doctor for three months and did not provide care, and when they decided to take him to a specialist it was 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 this short period, and with medication and medical care, the disease is controlled, but my husband was deprived of treatment and within 95 days of the onset of his illness he died. With proper medical care this tragedy could not have happened at all.”

Mr. Doghmechi’s wife said: “I went many times and said with whatever bail you want, just give him a few days of leave. Hospital bed leave so he can receive treatment and then you can return him to prison, but they didn’t even agree to that much. My husband only had six months of chemotherapy treatment, if that had been completed this would not have happened.”

Vahid Seyadi Nasiri

On December 12, 2018, Vahid Seyadi Nasiri, who due to his Facebook activities was accused of insulting sanctities and the leadership as well as propaganda against the system and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, died while Alaheh Seyadi Nasiri, his sister, told Radio Farda that he had been on a hunger strike for several days.

Vahid Seyadi Nasiri had gone on a hunger strike in protest of non-implementation of the principle of separating prisoners according to crimes.

Mansoor Radpoor

In June 2012, Mansoor Radpoor died in prison while, according to his wife, he had no history of illness but during his imprisonment, he constantly suffered from stomach problems and complained about why he was not being transferred outside the prison for treatment.

His daughter Mahsa Radpoor, who had visited him two weeks before, announced: “The forensic doctor said the cause of death was a stroke, but when we saw my father’s body it didn’t resemble someone who died from a stroke at all. His entire body was wounded and bruised and there were signs of beating on his body. I am certain they killed him because a person who has a stroke doesn’t end up beaten and battered like that.”

Mr. Radpoor was arrested in April 2007 and was sentenced to five years in prison by the Karaj Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of cooperation with the MEK, which was later increased to eight years.

Shahrokh Zamani

Shahrokh Zamani, a building painter and labor activist who since 2011 had been imprisoned on charges of attempting to form workers’ organizations including the painters’ union and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, died in Rajaishahr Prison on September 13, 2015.

Prison officials claimed the cause of death was a stroke, but Nina Zamani, Mr. Zamani’s daughter, announced that her father “had no physical problems and was in perfect health.”

Afshin Asanlu

The cause of Afshin Asanlu’s death on June 21, 2013, was declared a heart attack by prison officials. Farshateh Asanlu, his sister, however, announced that her brother had no history of heart disease and was healthy at the last visit.

Farshateh Asanlu 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 Asanlu, 42, was a labor activist and brother of Mansoor Asanlu, one of the then-members of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Union, who in 2009 was sentenced to five years imprisonment on charges of conspiracy and assembly with intent to act against national security.

Taleb Basati

A nursing student and emergency room employee of Malakshah city in Ilam, an arrestee related to December 2017 protests who died in prison. Jalal Mirzaei, then-representative of Ilam in parliament, declared the cause of his death as a heart attack.

Mr. Basati was arrested on February 18, 2018, at his home and his body was returned to his family on March 27 of that year. BBC reported that in Mr. Basati’s death certificate it was stated that he died due to “brain trauma” and there were signs of beating and injuries 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 law enforcement officials said her father went into a coma due to blows and died.

Tayebeh Raji said her father had been severely beaten when arrested in early March of that year and was in critical condition, but moved his hand, and after that had no contact with the family.

The Nur Captured website, which covered news related to Gonabadi Dervishes, had reported that Mr. Raji was killed as a result of blows inflicted during interrogation at the police detention center.

Mohammad Raji had been a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and had been chemically wounded in the Iran-Iraq War.

Alireza Shirrahammadi

On the evening of Monday, June 10, 2019, two prisoners attacked Alireza Shirrahammadi in Fashafuyeh Prison and killed him. Mr. Shirrahammadi was arrested during August 2018 protests and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

This political prisoner was killed in prison while mostly in protest of the lack of personal security and inhuman conditions in Fashafuyeh Prison, he had gone on a hunger strike.

Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kasb, lawyer of Alireza Shirrahammadi, in an interview with ILNA news agency, stated that in the same ward there were two murderers who were being held in solitary confinement which was always locked, but it is unclear how that night those two managed to pull Mr. Shirrahammadi into their cell and kill 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 have declared the cause of their deaths as suicide.

Omidodezh Mirseyafi

A young blogger who was imprisoned on February 10, 2009, died 42 days later in Laqman Hospital and prison officials declared the cause of death as drug poisoning.

Omidodezh Mirseyafi had been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the system and insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Mr. Mirseyafi’s lawyer, had told his family that in response to the autopsy, the cause of death was written as “consumption of 30 to 40 propranolol tablets.”

Amirparviz Mirseyafi, Omidodezh’s brother, however, in an interview said, “I saw the body myself. There was severe bleeding from the left ear. His nose was full of blood clots. His face was bruised. There were bruises on his shoulders and lower back. His skull was fractured. To the point that under his head, the sheet in which the body was wrapped was completely covered in blood. We were told that he took pills, his blood pressure dropped, and he died. This cannot be true and he was definitely beaten, I’m sure of that. I know he was beaten, his condition worsened, and he wasn’t cared for and he passed away.”

Dr. Hossam Firouzi, Omidodezh Mirseyafi’s cellmate, also testified that in the prison clinic, in response to Omidodezh’s insistence on treatment, they “beat him and said he was faking.”

Kavous Seyed Amami

On February 10, 2018, Ramin Seyed Amami, son of Kavous Seyed Amami, announced on his Twitter page that his father died in prison two weeks after his arrest, and prison officials also declared the cause as “suicide.” The family of Mr. Seyed Amami rejected this claim.

Kavous Seyed Amami held a doctorate in sociology and was a faculty member of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Political Science at Imam Sadiq University. He was also the CEO of the “Persian Heritage Wildlife Institute.”

Ibrahim Lotfollahi

On December 7, 2007, Ibrahim Lotfollahi, a Sanandaj Payam Noor University student, was arrested in front of the university and died eight days later in the city’s detention center.

Saleh Nikbakht, Lotfollahi family’s lawyer, said: “The court confirmed the investigator’s ruling on suicide and announced that no murder had occurred. We objected and said given that the forensic opinion referred to signs of blows and bleeding in the nose, we demand reinvestigation and requested exhumation, but unfortunately neither the investigator nor the Sanandaj prosecutor agreed and said the previous forensic opinion had been issued and exhumation had no legal basis. They said he hanged himself with a shower rod in the prison bathroom and committed suicide. While we believed the matter should be clarified and the family should also be assured of what exactly happened, but unfortunately, agreement was not reached.”

Valollah Faez Mahdi

Valollah Faez Mahdi was arrested in September 2001 and on September 6, 2006, Evin Prison officials formally announced his death, claiming “he hanged himself in his cell and died after being transferred to the hospital.”

He was arrested on charges of membership in the MEK and was sentenced to death, and according to his cellmates, he was on a hunger strike in protest of the treatment of officials at Goherdast Prison, and after he fell into a coma, he was transferred to Shariati Hospital.

Mohammad Javad Parnedakh

Mohammad Javad Parnedakh was a chemical engineering student at Isfahan University of Technology who, after participating in a student gathering during the June 2009 protests, was summoned to the Isfahan Ministry of Intelligence, and after two days his lifeless body was found.

Farhad Tajri, a parliament representative who was a member of the parliament’s follow-up committee, along with the head of information of Gilangarb, by visiting Mr. Parnedakh’s home, asked them to announce that their son had died in an accident. But IRNA news agency claimed that Mohammad Javad Parnedakh was one of the main instigators of unrest in Isfahan and committed suicide.

The Parnedakh family, rejecting these claims, filed a complaint demanding clarification of their son’s murder case; a complaint that was not accepted and the case was closed without being reopened. Sadegh Parnedakh, his brother, said: “We are an ethnic minority, they won’t even hand over the body, they won’t even accept a complaint, what can we do? How should we follow up? My 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 on Saturday, December 16, his body was buried.

Judicial officials accused him of buying and selling drugs and claimed he committed suicide in detention. A claim that was rejected by Vahid Heidari’s uncle and civil activists and lawyers of the city of Arak.

Mohammad Najafi, a legal lawyer, was arrested for pursuing the murder case of Vahid Heidari in prison.

Sina Ghanbari

Sina Ghanbari, a 22-year-old youth and another arrestee from the 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 authorities claimed he committed suicide in the quarantine toilet of Evin Prison, but the December 2017 arrests follow-up committee, quoting two “eyewitnesses,” announced that Sina Ghanbari had been interrogated two days before his death and “after his arrest, told his cellmates that they had house-cleaned him (beaten him) to the extent that some parts of his body were severely bruised.”

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the then-prosecutor general, claimed on December 21 of that year that Sina Ghanbari was an addict and committed suicide. A project and scenario that was also executed for other prisoners killed in the same year.

Naser Albushoke Dorfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamesi

Naser Albushoke Dorfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamesi, three young Arabs who were arrested in Ahvaz in March 2012 during unrest in the cities of Shush and Hamidiyeh.

Naser Albushoke, a 19-year-old youth who, according to his family, had no political activities and no connection to the unrest in Shush and Hamidiyeh: “They said he killed himself while there were signs of beating and injuries on Naser’s face, chest, and body. His neck was bruised and it seemed like 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. Naser’s body was taken to the mortuary of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz and remained there for 11 days, then they gave the body on the condition that the family remain silent and not say anything and take it out of Ahvaz. They took the body to the city of Ramshir (Khalaf Abad) and buried it there.”

Mohammad Kaabi, another Arab citizen, was 35 years old and only one phone call from the intelligence office, ended his file and his death in the judicial and security system: “They just made one phone call and told the family we’ve buried his body ourselves, don’t pursue it, you have no right to hold any ceremony.”

Mohammad Kaabi was a law student and an Arab activist in Khuzestan Province. According to his family: “They arrested Mohammad in his 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, an unknown phone call with no number came to the family. Someone on the line said I’m calling from the intelligence office, Mohammad has died and we’ve buried him somewhere, stop pursuing it. This person said you have no right to hold any ceremony and keep quiet.”

Reza Moghamesi, another Arab citizen, died in the Ahvaz intelligence detention center; little information has been released about him so far and his family has remained silent.

Those Whose Deaths Were Officially Recognized

Among the prison deaths, only a small number have been officially recognized by the government and the families’ complaint cases have been taken to court, although according to families, fair trials have never occurred. The complaint cases of many families whose children died in prisons were closed at the initial stages of complaints or remained unanswered.

Zahra Kazemi

On June 23, 2003, while photographing a gathering of families of political prisoners in front of Evin Prison, Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, was arrested and 18 days later on June 20 of the same year died in Baghiyatallah Aazam Hospital in Tehran.

Mohsen Armin, then-vice president of the sixth parliament and member of the national security and foreign policy committee, from the official parliament podium pointed the finger of accusation at Saeed Mortazavi and said: “Zahra Kazemi tells her interrogators that during interrogation at the prosecutor’s office, particularly from her head area, she was beaten. On July 5 at 12 p.m., she is transferred to the hospital and at 6 a.m. on the sixth, her condition worsens due to brain hemorrhage, she falls into a coma, and dies from brain death. The cause of the hemorrhage is identified as brain trauma and skull fracture. Zahra Kazemi remains on life support until July 19 despite brain death, after which her death is announced. Judge Mortazavi, after her death, outside the scope of responsibility and without informing the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, summons the director general of foreign media of that ministry (Mohammad Hossein Khoshqacht) and asks him to announce in an interview that the cause of her death was a stroke.”

The special committee of the then-presidency declared the cause of Ms. Kazemi’s death as “skull fracture, brain hemorrhage and its complications resulting from a hard object striking the head or the head striking a hard object.”

According to Shirin Ebadi, Zahra Kazemi’s family lawyer, “ultimately they announced that the killer is not identified. While we know that in Evin Prison there is filming 24 hours a day in solitary cells and Zahra Kazemi was also in solitary. While it was also reflected in the case file that Mr. Mortazavi as prosecutor was busy interrogating her in her cell until three in the morning.”

Ali Younesi, former Minister of Intelligence, announced 14 years later on February 25, 2018, in an interview that Zahra Kazemi, apparently during the inspection process, receiving items and transfer to the detention center and not during interrogation, “due to resistance in handing over her belongings, was beaten and her head struck against the street curb causing her brain hemorrhage, and if she had been transferred to the hospital on time, she would have definitely been saved.”

Sattar Beheshti

Sattar Beheshti was arrested in 2012 for publishing critical posts about the Islamic Republic on his blog by the cyber security police and died as a result of injuries from torture during detention.

The court determined Sattar Beheshti’s death as “quasi-intentional murder” and sentenced his killer, a police officer, to three years in prison.

In the court’s final ruling, Akbar Taghi-Zadeh, a police officer of the cyber crimes unit and the main defendant in Sattar Beheshti’s murder case, was sentenced to three years imprisonment, 74 lashes, and two years mandatory residence in Borazjan.

Sattar Beheshti’s mother and his defense lawyer, who believe intentional murder occurred in this incident and in protest against the ruling of Sattar Beheshti’s death as “quasi-intentional,” did not attend the court.

After Sattar Beheshti’s death, 41 political prisoners of Evin Prison testified in a letter that he was in Ward 350 of Evin Prison on November 1 and 2, while he had been severely tortured and signs of various tortures were visible on his entire body.

Karaj Prison Deaths

Amir Javadifar, Mohammad Kamrani, and Mohsen Ruhollahamin are three of those who died in Kahrizak detention center as a result of torture and mistreatment by officials. The Islamic Republic accepted responsibility for their deaths. Based on the court’s judgment in the Kahrizak case, two of the defendants in the case were sentenced to qisas (retaliatory punishment) for the murder of these three who had been arrested following protests over election results.

Nine other defendants were also sentenced to imprisonment, payment of diyyah (blood money), cash penalties, temporary suspension from service, and corporal punishment, and one other defendant was acquitted of the charges due to lack of proof.

The families of the Kahrizak victims, however, by forgoing qisas for two of the agents of these murders, demanded accountability from the main commanders of this case, namely Saeed Mortazavi, Hassan Zare Dohnavi (known as Judge Hadad), and Ali Akbar Haydaripur. Ultimately Saeed Mortazavi was sentenced to permanent suspension from judicial services and five years suspension from government services and a cash fine of 200 thousand tomans.

The Islamic Republic refused to accept responsibility for the deaths of Ramin Aghazadeh Qahramani and Ahmad Najati Kargar, who after being released from Kahrizak detention center, died as a result of complications from mistreatment.

Unknown Fates

What is common in all cases of arrestees and prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons is the refusal of judicial and security officials of the Islamic Republic to accept responsibility for their fates and the efforts of officials at various levels of government to cover up and falsify the true narrative of what happened to these prisoners.

In some cases, however, even falsification of the narrative is absent, and none of the government officials are willing to provide any explanation about the fate of the arrestees, to the point that more than two decades have passed since the disappearance of Pirouz Davani, Saeed Zinali, and Farshte Alizadeh without any news.

Pirouz Davani, a writer, 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 24, 1998, and his brother Hossein Davani says: “They made sure nothing remained of my brother, so much so that they didn’t even open a file for my brother’s abduction. In April 1998, four months before Pirouz Davani’s disappearance, Mr. Razini had told my brother to stop writing or you will disappear without a trace. They did exactly that. Nothing remained of my brother.”

Saeed Zinali, a computer science graduate from Tehran University, was arrested at his home during the 1999 university campus protests and after 21 years his family has no news of his fate. Akram Ghanbari, Saeed Zinali’s mother, announced: “Three armed officers came and said they would take Saeed for 10 minutes of questioning. Saeed was 22 years old at the time of arrest. Two or three months after his arrest, he called from prison and said I’m fine and follow up on my affairs, after that I have no news of my son.”

Farshte Alizadeh, according to Saeed Zinali’s mother, is another arrestee from the 1999 campus protests whose fate is unknown. Mrs. Ghanbari says that until a few years ago she saw Farshte Alizadeh’s mother who was pursuing her daughter’s fate, but after her death, she has no information whether other family members are still pursuing the case.

Zahra Baniyaghboob and Mehrdad Taleshian

But these are not the only political and ideological prisoners facing such fates. Zahra Baniyaghboob and Mehrdad Taleshian are just two examples of non-political arrestees who died in detention.

Zahra Baniyaghboob, a medical student who voluntarily went to one of Iran’s remote villages to complete her medical service plan, was arrested on October 11, 2007, in one of Hamadan’s parks on charges of what was called “committing a manifest crime” by members of the command for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, and was transferred to the morality crimes section. Two days later, detention officials claimed that she had committed suicide using a piece of cloth in the corridor of the second floor of the detention center.

Ms. Baniyaghboob’s family and lawyers have rejected this claim, but their investigations and complaints ultimately led nowhere. According to her father: “They stole the case file, destroyed documents and evidence of the crime, including my daughter’s clothes.”

The family of Mehrdad Taleshian, a 21-year-old youth from Divandareh whose body was returned to his family in February 2021, several days after his arrest, called the law enforcement announcement of his death from a heart attack a blatant lie. One of Mr. Taleshian’s relatives told Radio Farda that his family received his body while there were signs of injury and stitches on his head.

These names are only the names of those prisoners whose deaths in prison have been reported by media. The names of many who died in prison are not reported due to security pressure on their families or families’ lack of access to media. Families who buried their imprisoned children’s bodies at night due to security pressure and were deprived of the right to mourn.

 

Source: Radio Farda