Evin Prison Video Scandal; Apologies to Everyone Except the Victims

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf asked the Article 90 Commission of Parliament to investigate “the matter of images released from Evin” in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office. The head of the Prison Organization also apologized to the leader, the nation, and prison guards.

The aftershocks of the hacking of Evin Prison’s closed-circuit cameras and the release of videos depicting harsh prison conditions and mistreatment of inmates continue.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said in response to a verbal complaint by one of the representatives at the public session on Wednesday, the 3rd of Shahrivar: “The Article 90 Commission, with the help of the General Prosecutor’s Office, is following up on the entire Evin matter and necessary information will be provided in this regard.”

A cyber group identifying itself as “Ali Justice” recently announced the hacking of Evin Prison’s closed-circuit cameras and released videos that received widespread coverage in media and cyberspace and drew considerable criticism against the prison officials.

The leaked images showing inadequate detention conditions and beatings of inmates by security personnel and prison guards have also been met with reactions from international human rights organizations.

Mahmoud Sadeqi, a former parliament representative, in a letter to the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje-ai, proposed “establishing a permanent committee to oversee prisons composed of the three branches,” and noted that he had presented such a plan to the tenth parliament, which was not reviewed due to lack of time.

The Murky Future of a Proposal

Sadeqi presented his second proposal as follows: “Transferring the Prison Organization from the judiciary to the executive branch, considering that prison management is not a judicial matter and has an executive nature, and would also enable parliamentary oversight. In this regard, a bill was also drafted in the tenth parliament and referred to the Legal and Judicial Commission.”

It appears that this tenth parliament representative, whose eligibility for the eleventh parliamentary elections was not approved, paid little attention to the political structure of the Islamic Republic in presenting his proposal.

The judiciary is a sovereign institution whose head is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei. Separating an organization from this branch and annexing it to the executive apparatus is only possible with the approval of Khamenei himself, and if approved by parliament, it would likely not be endorsed by the Guardian Council.

Apologies to the Leader and Prison Guards

Mohammadmahdi Hajmohammadi, head of the Prison Organization, on the second of Shahrivar, in a Twitter message referring to the images released from Evin Prison cameras, “accepted responsibility for these unacceptable behaviors” and committed to making efforts to “prevent the recurrence of such bitter incidents and take serious action against the offending parties.”

The head of the Prison Organization further wrote: “I apologize to Almighty God, our dear Leader, the great nation, and the honorable prison guards, whose efforts, of course, will not be overlooked due to these mistakes.”

In other words, this judiciary official did not consider the released videos of violent and heinous treatment of inmates as grounds for apologizing to the victims.

Nevertheless, Mahmoud Sadeqi, in his letter to the head of the judiciary, expressed hope that the exposure of videos of mistreatment of inmates in Evin “will lead to investigation of the matter and punishment of offending officials and employees, and restoration of inmates’ rights, and that radical and structural solutions be given your attention.”

Source: DW