Prisoners Whose Price of Freedom Was Their Lives

Behnam Mahjoubi, a conscientious objector, died six days after being transferred to the intensive care unit of Loghman Hospital. Saleha Hosseini, Behnam Mahjoubi’s wife, told Radio Farda that disregard for doctors’ opinions about his inability to tolerate imprisonment, failure to provide timely medical care, and delays in his hospital transfer worsened his physical condition and ultimately led to this conscientious objector falling 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. His sentence was carried out on June 21st despite a medical opinion stating he was unable to tolerate imprisonment.

The process that claimed Behnam Mahjoubi’s life within months has been repeated for many other political and conscientious objectors, and over the past years, dozens of these 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, evade accountability and responsibility through cover-ups, narrative fabrication, and pressure on the families of prisoners and the deceased.

From Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani, a writer who was kidnapped by Ministry of Intelligence agents on March 14, 1994 and killed in prison on November 25, 1994 after nine months of disappearance, declared a natural death, to Behnam Mahjoubi, whom prison authorities claimed “of his own will and decision, without consulting a doctor, simultaneously consumed multiple drugs of his own and others in prison.”

Saeid Emami, a high-ranking Ministry of Intelligence official and primary suspect in serial murders, revealed in a speech in Hamadan that Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was given one of his favorite foods—a type of paste—in prison. Because this food causes constipation, interrogators gave him a laxative made from potassium instead of a proper laxative, a substance that stopped Saidi Sirjani’s heart and killed him.

His death was attributed to a heart attack. However, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wrote in his memoirs that Mohammad Yazdi, then head of the judiciary, reported that the coroner’s findings indicated Saidi Sirjani’s death was natural.

No exact 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 throughout the 1980s, no explanation was given for prisoners’ deaths. Those killed under torture were only handed over to families as corpses, without families having the right to question their children’s fates.

In recent years, however, Islamic Republic officials have often claimed prisoners committed suicide or attempted to portray their deaths as natural. Yet families have repeatedly told media outlets about the systematic elimination of their children by the judicial and security system through torture or denial of medical access.

Akbar Mohammadi

During clashes at Tehran University in July 1999, Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist, along with his brother Manouchehr Mohammadi, was arrested 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 Ashrafpour, his mother, explained the process of her son’s death in prison: “Akbar was severely tortured in prison. He was damaged. He underwent surgery three times. The doctor said he should not return to prison and that prison conditions were deadly for him. According to the doctor, 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 protested, saying he needed rest and treatment and the doctor confirmed this, 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 treatment.

Prison officials attributed Akbar Mohammadi’s death to a heart attack.

Hadi Saber

In June 2011, Hadi Saber’s body was removed from Evin Prison. A religious national activist who had gone on hunger strike in protest over the death of Haleh Sahabi, he died as a result of a heart attack caused by his hunger strike. Farida Jamshidi, Mr. Saber’s wife, announced that “my husband died due to lack of attention and negligence by prison officials.”

Firouzeh Saber, Hadi Saber’s sister, explained: “My brother became ill at four in the morning on Friday. He had severe chest pain. Although he and his cellmates complained, prison officials paid no attention. He suffered two heart attacks and they still paid no attention. About six hours later, they took him to Modares Hospital, but it was too late. The delay caused 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 was severely beaten on the eighth day of his hunger strike by individuals believed to be security and intelligence personnel.” The Saber family also filed a complaint with the judiciary stating: “Officials must explain how someone on hunger strike and ill is taken to the clinic and instead of treatment is beaten. This is a tragedy and we will not let it pass.”

Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, then spokesperson 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 forensic opinions indicated no one was responsible.

Albarz Ghasemi Shale

First Lieutenant Albarz Ghasemi Shale, Deputy Commander of the Naval Forces and Deputy Training Commander of the Rasht Special Unit, was in full health when arrested on May 13, 2008 according to his family, but his body was removed from prison. Hamid Ghasemi Shale, Albarz’s brother, who witnessed his brother’s blindness and subsequent death in prison, said: “During a visit, he told my sister his vision was blurry. We thought it was prison effects and his eyes had weakened. At dinner, I asked Albarz what he was doing. He said he couldn’t see anything. I said what do you mean? He said everything is black; I can’t see anything. We took Albarz to the prison clinic 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 declined rapidly. He reached a point where he couldn’t bathe. He had completely lost his sight and had no bladder control. Prison clinic staff took him several times, but they could no longer find his vein. The doctor wrote that he couldn’t tolerate prison and should be with his family. But they refused. They claimed he had cancer and needed chemotherapy. Jafari Dolatabad (then Tehran prosecutor) refused. They kept my brother in the clinic so long that he fell into a coma. Then they took him to the emergency room at 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 this claim is true; we only know that if they had allowed treatment, he might be alive today.”

The Ghasemi Shale brothers had been charged with espionage and sentenced to death, but after case review, they were acquitted of the charges and Hamid Ghasemi Shale was released from prison.

Amirhossein Hashmatsaran

On March 7, 2009, Amirhossein Hashmatsaran, who had been imprisoned in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj for more than four years, died in Rajaei Hospital.

Mohammad Reza Faghihi, 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 undeniable.”

According to Mr. Hashmatsaran’s lawyer, this political prisoner had suffered from heart problems months earlier and “his condition had deteriorated many times.” Nevertheless, the Shahriar Revolutionary Court prosecutor left requests from Mr. Hashmatsaran’s wife, Elaheh Nazjoo, for this prisoner’s treatment unanswered.

Amirhossein Hashmatsaran was tried in 2004 on charges of founding a group called “Iran’s National Unity Front” and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by the Shahriar Revolutionary Court.

Mohsen Deghmehchi

On April 28, 2011, a renowned bazaar merchant sentenced to 10 years imprisonment died, despite his wife saying he had no health problems when arrested and was completely healthy.

Maryam Engli, Mr. Deghmehchi’s wife, said: “The illness started in September 2010, exactly one year after his arrest and while in prison. For three months they delayed taking him to a doctor and provided no care. When they finally 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 omentum and at that point diagnosed him with cancer. But the problem is that no one dies from such disease in such a short time and with proper medication and medical care, the disease is controlled. But my husband was denied treatment and died within 95 days of the illness’s onset. Had proper medical treatment proceeded, this tragedy would not have happened at all.”

Mr. Deghmehchi’s wife said: “I went many times and said with any bail amount you want, just give him a few days of leave—a hospital bed leave so he could receive treatment and then return him to prison—but they wouldn’t even agree to that. My husband had only six months of chemotherapy. If it had been completed, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Vahid Sayadi Nasiri

On December 12, 2018, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who was charged with insulting sacred values and the leadership and spreading propaganda against the system due to his Facebook activities, and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, died. Elaheh Sayadi Nasiri, his sister, told Radio Farda that he had been on hunger strike for several days.

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

Mansoor Radpour

In June 2012, Mansoor Radpour died in prison, despite his wife saying he had no history of illness but suffered from stomach problems throughout his imprisonment and complained about why he wasn’t being transferred outside prison for treatment.

His daughter Mahsa Radpour, who had visited him two weeks before, announced: “The coroner said the cause of death was a stroke, but when we saw my father’s body, it didn’t resemble someone who had died of a stroke at all. His entire body was wounded and bruised and showed signs of beating. I’m certain he was killed because someone who dies of a stroke doesn’t have a body so battered.”

Mr. Radpour was arrested in May 2007 and was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Karaj Revolutionary Court on charges of cooperation with the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, later increased to eight years.

Shahrokh Zamani

Shahrokh Zamani, a building painter and labor activist who had been imprisoned since 2011 on charges of attempting to form labor unions including the Painters’ Workers Syndicate, and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, died on September 13, 2015 in Rajaei Shahr Prison.

Prison officials attributed his death to a stroke, but Nina Zamani, Mr. Zamani’s daughter, announced that her father “had no physical problems and was completely healthy.”

Afshin Esanloo

Afshin Esanloo’s death on June 21, 2013 was attributed to a heart attack by prison officials. Farshte Esanloo, his sister, however, announced that her brother had no history of heart disease and was healthy at their last visit.

Farshte Esanloo told the International Human Rights Campaign 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 Esanloo, 42, a labor activist and brother of Mansoor Esanloo, a member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Syndicate, was sentenced in 2009 to five years imprisonment on charges of conspiracy and assembly to act against national security.

Taleb Basati

A nursing student and emergency room employee in Malekshah, Ilam, arrested in connection with December 2017 protests, died in prison. Jalal Mirzaei, then Ilam representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, attributed his death to a heart attack.

Mr. Basati was arrested at his home on February 19, 2018, and his body was handed to his family on March 27 of that year. The BBC reported that Mr. Basati’s death certificate stated he died of “brain trauma” and showed signs of beating 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 had stated her father fell into a coma due to blows inflicted on him and died.

Tayebeh Raji said her father was severely beaten when arrested on the first day of March that year and was in critical condition, but moved his hand, after which there was no contact with the family.

The Nur Possessed website covering news of Gonabadi Dervishes reported that Mr. Raji was killed as a result of blows inflicted 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 10, 2019, two prisoners attacked Alireza Shirmohammadi in Fashafuyeh Prison, killing him. Mr. Shirmohammadi was arrested during August 2018 protests and sentenced to eight years in prison.

This political prisoner was killed in prison while mostly on hunger strike in protest of lack of personal security and inhumane conditions in Fashafuyeh Prison.

Mohammad Hadi Arfanian, Alireza Shirmohammadi’s lawyer, told the ILNA news agency that two murderers were also held in solitary confinement in the same ward, which was always locked, but it’s unclear how that night those two took Mr. Shirmohammadi into their cell and killed him.

Prisoners Said to Have Committed Suicide

Dozens of prisoners have died in Islamic Republic prisons over the years, and their deaths were attributed to suicide by officials and judicial and security authorities.

Omidoreza Mirsaifi

A young blogger imprisoned on February 9, 2009 died 42 days later in Loghman Hospital, and prison officials attributed his death to drug poisoning.

Omidoreza Mirsaifi had been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for propaganda against the system and insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic.

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

Amir Parvaiz Mirsaifi, Omidoreza’s brother, said in an interview: “I saw the body myself. His left ear had severe bleeding. His nose was full of blood clots. His face was bruised. His back and lower back were bruised. He had a skull fracture. The part under his head, the sheet the body was wrapped in, was completely covered in blood. We were told he took pills, his blood pressure dropped, and he died. This cannot be true and he was certainly beaten. I’m certain of that. I know that being beaten worsened his condition and he didn’t receive treatment and he passed away.”

Dr. Hossam Firozi, Omidoreza Mirsaifi’s cellmate, also testified that in the prison clinic, in response to Omidoreza’s insistence on treatment, he was “beaten and told he was malingering.”

Kavous Seyedamami

On February 11, 2018, Ramin Seyedamami, son of Kavous Seyedamami, announced on his Twitter page that his father died in prison two weeks after his arrest, and prison officials claimed it was “suicide.” The Seyedamami family rejected this claim.

Kavous Seyedamami held a PhD in sociology and was a faculty member of the College of Islamic Teachings and Political Science at Imam Sadiq University. He was simultaneously the CEO of the “Pars Heritage Wildlife Institute.”

Ebrahim Lotfolahi

On December 7, 2007, Ebrahim Lotfolahi, a Sanandaj Payam Noor University student, was arrested near the university and died eight days later in the city’s detention center.

Saleh Nikbakht, the Lotfolahi family’s lawyer, said: “The court confirmed the interrogator’s ruling on suicide and declared no murder had occurred. We protested and said that given the mention of traces of blows and nasal bleeding in the forensic opinion, we seek further investigation and requested an exhumation. But unfortunately, neither the interrogator nor the Sanandaj prosecutor agreed and said the forensic opinion had already been issued and exhumation had no legal basis. They said he hung himself with a shower rod in the prison bathroom and committed suicide, while we believed the matter should be clarified and the family should have peace of mind about what actually happened, but unfortunately, they refused.”

Valioallah Feiz Mahdi

Valioallah Feiz 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 Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization and was sentenced to death. According to his cellmates, he had been on hunger strike for two weeks in protest of prison officials’ treatment at Gohardasht Prison before falling into a coma and being transferred to Shariati Hospital.

Mohammad Javad Parndakh

Mohammad Javad Parndakh was a chemical engineering student at Isfahan University of Technology who, after participating in a student gathering at the university during June 2009 protests, was summoned to Isfahan’s intelligence office, and his lifeless body was found two days later.

Farhad Tajeri, a parliament member who was a member of parliament’s follow-up committee, together with the intelligence chief of Gilan-Gharb, requested that at Mr. Parndakh’s home they announce their son died in an accident. But the state news agency IRNA claimed Mohammad Javad Parndakh was one of the main instigators of unrest in Isfahan and had committed suicide.

The Parndakh family, rejecting these claims, filed a complaint seeking to clarify their son’s murder, a complaint that was not accepted and the case remained closed. Sadegh Parndakh, his brother, said: “We are a minority. They won’t even hand us the body and won’t accept the complaint. What can we do? How should we follow up? My parents also say you’re all we have left and we’re afraid something will happen to you. That’s why we’ve left the case to God. God will judge.”

Vahid Heydari

Vahid Heydari, 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 charged him with buying and selling drugs and claimed he committed suicide in detention. This was rejected by Vahid Heydari’s uncle and civil activists and lawyers in Arak.

Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer who pursued Vahid Heydari’s murder case in prison, was arrested.

Sina Ganbari

Sina Ganbari, a 22-year-old and another protester arrested during December 2017 protests, was arrested on December 10 of that year in Tehran, and his body was handed to his family on December 19.

Judicial officials claimed he committed suicide in the quarantine restroom of Evin Prison, but the December 2017 Arrests Follow-up Committee cited two “eyewitnesses” claiming Sina Ganbari had been interrogated two days before his death and “after his arrest told his cellmates they had cleaned house (been beaten) in such a way that some parts of his body were severely bruised.”

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the General Prosecutor, claimed on December 21 of that year that Sina Ganbari was an addict and committed suicide—a project and scenario executed for other prisoners killed in detention that same year.

Naser Albooshouke Darfeshan, Mohammad Kaabi and Reza Moghamsi

Naser Albooshouke Darfeshan, Mohammad Kaabi and Reza Moghamsi, three young Arabs arrested in Ahvaz in May 2011 during unrest in Shush and Hamidiyeh cities.

Naser Albooshouke, a 19-year-old who according to his family had no political activity and no connection to unrest in Shush and Hamidiyeh, was claimed to have killed himself, while there were signs of beating on his face, chest and body. His neck was bruised as if a rope had previously been around it. They then said the family had no right to hold a funeral. When his uncle protested, they didn’t hand over the body. Naser’s body was taken to Golestan Hospital morgue in Ahvaz and remained there for 11 days, after which they handed the body to the condition that the family remain silent and not speak and take it outside Ahvaz. They took the body to Ramshir city (Khalaf Abad) and buried it there.

Mohammad Kaabi, another Arab citizen, was 35 and only one phone call from the intelligence office closed his file and death in the judiciary and security system: “They only called once and told the family we buried him ourselves; don’t follow up; 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 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, an unknown caller with no traceable number called the family. A person on the line said I’m calling from the intelligence office; Mohammad has died and we’ve buried him somewhere; don’t follow up anymore. This person said you have no right to hold any ceremony and stay silent.”

Reza Moghamsi is another Arab citizen who lost his life in the Ahvaz intelligence detention center; little information has been released about him and his family has remained silent.

Deaths Officially Acknowledged

Among prison deaths, only a few have been officially recognized by the government and families’ complaint cases have been taken to court, although according to families, fair trials never took place. Many families’ complaint cases regarding those who died in prisons remained closed at initial stages or went unanswered.

Zahra Kazemi

On June 23, 2003, while photographing a gathering of families of political prisoners outside Evin Prison, Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi was arrested and died 18 days later on June 30, 2003 at Baghiyatollah Azam Hospital in Tehran.

Mohsen Armin, then Deputy Speaker of the sixth parliament and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, pointed the finger of accusation at Saeid Mortazavi from the parliament podium and said: “Zahra Kazemi tells law enforcement interrogators that she was beaten during interrogation at the prosecutor’s office, particularly on her head. On June 25 at 12 at night she was transferred to the hospital and at 6 a.m. on June 26 her condition deteriorated due to brain hemorrhage and fell into a coma and suffered brain death. The cause of bleeding was identified as brain contusion and skull fracture. Zahra Kazemi was kept on a ventilator until June 30 despite brain death, and after that date her death was announced. After her death, Judge Mortazavi, outside the scope of responsibility and without informing the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, summoned the head of foreign media at that ministry (Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaghat) and asked him to declare in an interview that the cause of her death was a stroke.”

A special committee of the then presidency attributed Ms. Kazemi’s death to “skull fracture, brain hemorrhage and its complications resulting from a hard object hitting her head or her head striking a hard object.”

According to Shirin Ebadi, Zahra Kazemi’s family lawyer: “In the end they said the murderer cannot be identified. While we know that Evin Prison is filmed 24 hours a day in solitary cells, and Zahra Kazemi was also in solitary. While it was also reflected in the file that Mr. Mortazavi as prosecutor was busy interrogating her until three in the morning in her cell.”

Ali Yunesi, former Minister of Intelligence, announced 14 years later on February 25, 2018 in an interview that Zahra Kazemi apparently, during an inspection process, handing over objects and transfer to detention, not during interrogation, “was beaten due to resistance in handing over her belongings and her head struck the street curb causing 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 by the cyber police for publishing critical posts about the Islamic Republic on his blog and died as a result of torture injuries sustained during detention.

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

In the court’s final ruling, Akbar Taghizadeh, a cyber police officer and the main suspect in Sattar Beheshti’s murder case, was sentenced to three years imprisonment, 74 lashes and two years forced residence in Borazjan.

Sattar Beheshti’s mother and his defense lawyer, who believe intentional murder occurred, did not attend that court in protest of the “quasi-intentional” determination of Sattar Beheshti’s murder.

After Sattar Beheshti’s death, 41 political prisoners in Evin Prison testified in a letter that he had been in Ward 350 on November 1-2, while severely tortured with various torture marks visible all over his body.

Kahrizak Deaths

Amir Javadifar, Mohammad Kamrani and Mohsen Ruholamin are three victims of Kahrizak detention center who died under torture and due to mistreatment by officers. The Islamic Republic accepted responsibility for their deaths. Based on the Kahrizak case court ruling, two of the case suspects were sentenced to qisas (retaliatory execution) for killing these three who were arrested following post-election protests.

Nine other suspects were also sentenced to imprisonment, payment of diyeh (blood money), fines, temporary dismissal from service and corporal punishment, and another suspect was acquitted due to lack of proof of the charges.

Families of Kahrizak victims, waiving qisas for two of those responsible, demanded accountability from the main perpetrators of this case: Saeid Mortazavi, Hassan Zare Dehnavi (known as Judge Haddad) and Ali Akbar Heidari Far. In the end, Saeid Mortazavi was sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial service, five years dismissal from government service and a fine of 200,000 tomans.

The Islamic Republic evaded responsibility for the deaths of Ramin Aghazadeh Qahramani and Ahmad Nejati Kargar, who died from complications of mistreatment after release from Kahrizak detention center.

Unknown Fates

What is common in all cases of detainees and prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons is the lack of accountability by judicial and security officials and attempts by various levels of government to cover up and fabricate the narrative of what happened to these prisoners.

In some cases, however, there is not even fabrication and no government official has been willing to provide any explanation about the fate of detainees. To the extent that more than two decades after the disappearance of Piruz Davani, Saeid Zeinali and Fereshteh Alizadeh, there is still no news.

Piruz Davani, a writer and translator and editor of Piruz publication, has been missing for 22 years and his body has not been found. He left home on September 24, 1998, and his brother Hossein Davani says: “They made sure no trace of my brother remained, to the extent that they didn’t even file a case for his kidnapping. In May 1998, four months before Piruz Davani’s disappearance, Mr. Razini told my brother to stop writing; you’ll disappear so completely that no trace of you will remain. They did exactly that. No trace of my brother remained.”

Saeid Zeinali, a computer science graduate from Tehran University, was arrested at his home during the 1999 university student protests and after 21 years have passed, his family has no news of his fate. Akram Ghanbari, Saeid Zeinali’s mother, announced: “Three armed officers came and said they were taking Saeid for 10 minutes of questioning. Saeid was 22 years old when arrested. Two or three months after his arrest, he called from prison saying he was fine and asking us to pursue his affairs. After that, I have no news of my son.”

Fereshteh Alizadeh, according to Saeid Zeinali’s mother, is another detainee from the 1999 university protests whose fate is unknown. Ms. Ghanbari says until a few years ago she saw Fereshteh Alizadeh’s mother, who was following her daughter’s fate, but after her death, she has no information about whether other family members are still pursuing the case.

Zahra Bani Yaqoub and Mehrdad Taleshi

However, these are not the only political and conscientious objectors facing such fates. Zahra Bani Yaqoub and Mehrdad Taleshi are just two examples of non-political detainees who died in detention.

Zahra Bani Yaqoub, a medical student who had volunteered to conduct medical services in a remote Iranian village, was arrested on October 11, 2007 in one of Hamadan’s parks on charges of “committing an obvious crime” by officers of the headquarters for promoting virtue and preventing vice, and transferred to the morality section. Two days later, detention officials claimed she committed suicide using a fabric placard in the hallway of the second floor of the detention center.

Ms. Bani Yaqoub’s family and lawyers rejected this claim, but their follow-ups and complaints ultimately led nowhere. According to her father: “They stole the file; they destroyed the evidence and artifacts of the crime, including my daughter’s clothes.”

The family of Mehrdad Taleshi, a 21-year-old from Divandareh whose body was handed to his family in February 2021 a few days after his arrest, also rejected the law enforcement announcement of his death from cardiac arrest. One of Mr. Taleshi’s relatives told Radio Farda that his family received their son’s body while there were traces of head injuries and stitches on him.

These names are only the names of those prisoners whose death in detention has been reported by media. Many other names of those who have died have not reached media due to security pressure on families or lack of media access. Families who have buried their imprisoned children’s bodies at night due to security pressure and have been denied the right to mourn.

 

Source: Radio Farda