Prisoners Whose Freedom Came at the Cost of Their Lives

Behnam Mahjoubi, a political 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 doctors’ opinion about his inability to withstand imprisonment, failure to provide timely medical care, and delays in his hospital admission worsened his physical condition and ultimately led to a coma for this political prisoner.

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 21, despite a medical opinion stating he could not 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 years, dozens of these prisoners have died in prison.

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

From Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani, a writer who was abducted by Ministry of Intelligence agents on February 13, 1994, and killed in prison after nine months of no news on November 25, 1994, and ruled as natural death, to Behnam Mahjoubi, whom the General Prison Administration claimed “deliberately and without consulting a doctor consumed multiple drugs simultaneously in prison”.

Saeed Emami, a high-ranking Ministry of Intelligence official and the primary suspect in serial killings, revealed in a speech in Hamadan that in prison, Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was given one of his favorite foods, barley, and because this food causes constipation and obstruction, interrogators gave him “a suppository made from potassium” instead of a laxative; a suppository that stopped Saidi Sirjani’s heart and took his life.

His death was attributed to a heart attack. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, however, wrote in his memoirs that “Mr. Mohammad Yazdi, the Head of the Judiciary, reported the forensic medical report on the death of Mr. Saidi Sirjani in prison, stating it was natural death.”

There is no accurate statistics on the number of prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons, but in the early years following the revolution’s victory in 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic government, and throughout the 1980s, no explanation was given for prisoners’ deaths, and only the bodies of prisoners who were tortured to death were handed over to their families, without them having the right to ask about their children’s fate.

However, over the past years, in many cases, Islamic Republic officials have claimed 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 the University of Tehran in July 1999, Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist, was arrested along with his brother Manuchehr Mohammadi and was initially sentenced to death. Although his death sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison, Mr. Mohammadi died in Evin Prison in 2006.

Goljahan Ashrafpur, his mother, explained the process of her son’s death in prison: “They had tormented Akbar greatly in prison. They had tortured him. He was devastated. He underwent surgery three times. The doctor said he should not return to prison and prison conditions were fatal for him. According to the doctor’s testimony, my son’s body had become infected in prison and he needed to be treated outside the country. But they returned him to prison. No matter how much we protested, saying he needed rest, needed treatment, and the doctor testified, they refused. When they took Akbar away, I felt he would not return. When he returned to prison, he went on a hunger strike in protest of this matter. 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 was brought out of Evin Prison. A national religious 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 negligence and lack of attention from prison officials to his condition.”

Firouzeh Saber, Hadi Saber’s sister, explained: “My brother felt ill at four in the morning on Friday, had severe chest pain, and no matter what he said, his cellmates said prison officials paid no attention. He suffered two heart attacks but they still paid no attention, and after about six hours they took him to Modares Hospital, but by then it was too late. They took him too late and this 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, on the eighth day of his hunger strike, was severely beaten in the medical office by what are believed to be security and intelligence officers.” Mr. Saber’s family also filed a complaint with the judiciary, stating: “Gentlemen should explain how someone who is on a hunger strike and is sick is taken to a clinic only to be beaten instead of treated. This is a tragedy and we will not let it pass.”

Gholamhossein Mohseni Azhei, the then-spokesperson of the Judiciary, however, on the eve of the first anniversary of Hadi Saber’s death, claimed that he died of natural causes and the latest forensic medical opinion has stated that no one is responsible in this regard.

Albarz Ghasemi Shal

According to his family, First Lieutenant Albarz Ghasemi Shal, Deputy Commander of the Naval Forces and Educational Deputy of the Special Forces Unit in Rasht, was in perfect health when he was arrested on May 13, 2008, but his body was removed from prison. Hamid Ghasemi Shal, Albarz’s brother, who witnessed his brother’s blindness and subsequent death in prison, said: “During a visit, he told my sister his eyes were blurry. We said it was the effects of prison and his eyes had weakened. At the dinner table I asked Albarz what are you doing? He said I can’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 is no problem. I said he can’t see. He said he is malingering. From that day on, my brother’s health declined very rapidly, to the point where he couldn’t bathe. He had completely lost his sight and had no bladder control. Several times they took him to the Evin Prison clinic but they couldn’t find his vein anymore. The doctor had written that he couldn’t withstand prison and should be with his family. But they refused. They claimed he had cancer and needed chemotherapy. Jafari Dolatabad, the prosecutor at the time, refused. They kept my brother in the clinic for so long that he fell into a coma. Then they took him to the emergency room of Shahid Beheshti Hospital and he died. They said he had stomach cancer that spread to his brain and caused bleeding. We don’t know if this claim is true, we only know that if they had allowed and provided treatment, perhaps he would be alive now.”

The Ghasemi Shal brothers had been accused of espionage and sentenced to death, but after reinvestigation of the case, they were exonerated of the charges and Hamid Ghasemi Shal was released from prison.

Amirhossein Hashmataran

On March 6, 2008, Amirhossein Hashmataran, who had been imprisoned in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj for more than four years, died in Rajaei Shahr Hospital.

Mohammad Reza Faghihi, Mr. Hashmataran’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 the health of prisoners, the negligence of prison officials is clear.”

According to Mr. Hashmataran’s lawyer, this political prisoner had suffered from heart problems months earlier and “had become ill several times.” Nevertheless, the Shahryar Revolutionary Prosecutor left his wife’s requests for treatment unanswered.

Amirhossein Hashmataran was tried in 2004 for allegedly founding a group called the “National Unity Front of Iran” and was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Shahryar Revolutionary Court.

Mohsen Degmeh Chi

On April 28, 2011, a well-known merchant who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison died, even though according to his wife, he had no health problems when he was arrested and was in perfect health.

Maryam Langui, Mr. Degmeh Chi’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 there was no follow-up, 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 adenoid and diagnosed him with cancer at that time. But the problem is that no one dies 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 onset of his illness. With proper medical attention, this tragedy would not have happened at all.”

Mr. Degmeh Chi’s wife said: “I went many times and said no matter what amount of bail you want, just give him a few days of leave. Medical 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 six months of chemotherapy, if that had been done, this would not have happened.”

Vahid Sayadi Nasiri

On December 12, 2018, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who was accused of insulting sacred values and the Leader and propaganda against the system for his Facebook activities, and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, died while, according to his sister Elaha Sayadi Nasiri, he had been on a hunger strike for several days.

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

Mansoor Radpour

In June 2012, Mansoor Radpour died in prison, even though according to his wife, he had no history of illness, but during his imprisonment, he suffered constantly from stomach problems 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 forensic doctor 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 entire body was bruised and wounded and signs of beatings were visible on his body. I am sure they killed him because someone who has a stroke doesn’t end up like this.”

Mr. Radpour was arrested in May 2007 and was sentenced by the Karaj Islamic Revolutionary Court to five years in prison for alleged cooperation with the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, which was later increased to eight years.

Shahrokh Zamani

Shahrokh Zamani, a painter and labor activist who had been imprisoned since 2011 for attempting to form labor unions, including the painters’ union, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, 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 in perfect health.”

Afshin Asanloo

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

Farshte Asanloo 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 Asanloo, 42, was a labor activist and brother of Mansoor Asanloo, a member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Union, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for alleged collusion and assembly with intent to act against national security.

Taleb Basati

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

Mr. Basati was arrested at his home on February 19, 2017, and his body was handed over to his family on March 27 of that year. The BBC reported that in Mr. Basati’s death certificate, it was stated that he died due to “brain trauma” and signs of blunt force injuries were evident on the body of the deceased.

Mohammad Raji

In March 2017, Mohammad Raji’s daughter, one of the Gonabadi Dervishes, confirmed in an interview with Radio Farda that security forces announced her father had gone into a coma as a result of blows and died.

Tayyebeh Raji said that her father had been severely beaten when arrested at the beginning of March and was in critical 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 during interrogation at a police detention center.

Mohammad Raji was a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and had been chemically injured during the Iran-Iraq War.

Alireza Shirmohammadi

On the evening of June 11, 2019, two prisoners killed Alireza Shirmohammadi in Fashafuyeh Prison by attacking him. Mr. Shirmohammadi was arrested in August 2018 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 safety and inhumane conditions in Fashafuyeh Prison.

Mohammadi Hadi Erfanian Kasb, the lawyer for Alireza Shirmohammadi, announced in an interview with ILNA that two murderers were also held in solitary confinement in the same ward, which was always locked, but it is unclear how that night those two took 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.

Omideza Mirsiyafi

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.

Omideza Mirsiyafi had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for alleged propaganda against the system and insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic.

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

Amir Parviz Mirsiyafi, Omideza’s brother, however, 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 shoulder blades were bruised and his lower back. He had a fractured skull. So much so that the area under his head, the sheet the body was wrapped in, was completely bloody. We were told he took pills, his blood pressure dropped, and he died. This cannot be true and he was definitely beaten, I am sure of it. I know his condition worsened under the beating and was not treated and he died.”

Dr. Hossam Firozi, a cellmate of Omideza Mirsiyafi, also testified that in the prison clinic, in the face of Omideza’s insistence on treatment, he was “beaten and told he was malingering.”

Kavous Seyedamami

On February 10, 2018, Ramin Seyedamami, the son of Kavous Seyedamami, announced on his Twitter account that his father died in prison two weeks after his arrest, and prison officials also claimed it was “suicide.” The family rejected this claim.

Kavous Seyedamami was a doctoral graduate in sociology and a faculty member of the Faculty of Islamic Education 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 student at Payam Noor University in Sanandaj, was arrested in front of the university and died eight days later in a detention center in the city.

Saleh Nikbakht, Lotfollahi family’s lawyer, said: “The court confirmed the investigator’s decision that it was suicide and announced that no murder occurred. We objected and said that given that the forensic medical opinion mentioned signs of injury and bleeding in the nose, we requested further investigation and asked for an exhumation, but unfortunately neither the investigator nor the prosecutor of Sanandaj agreed and said the previous forensic medical opinion had been issued and exhumation has no religious justification. They said in the prison bathroom he committed suicide with a shower rod. While we believed the matter should be clarified and the family should be assured of what happened, but unfortunately they refused.”

Valiolah Feiz Mahdi

Valiolah 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 for alleged membership in the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization and had been sentenced to death, and according to his cellmates, he had been on a hunger strike for two weeks in protest of the treatment of Gohardasht Prison officials, and after he fell into a coma, he was 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 the June 2009 protests, was summoned to the Isfahan Information Office and his lifeless body was found after two days.

Farhad Tajari, a member of parliament who was a member of the parliament’s follow-up committee, along with the head of information in Gilangarb, requested that at Mr. Parndakh’s home they announce that their son died in an accident. However, the state news agency IRNA claimed that Mohammad Javad Parndakh was one of the main perpetrators of riots in Isfahan and had committed suicide.

The Parndakh family rejected these claims and filed a complaint seeking clarification of their son’s murder case; a complaint that was not accepted and the case was dismissed. Sadegh Parndakh, his brother, said: “We are an ethnic minority; they don’t even hand over the body to us, they don’t even accept the complaint, what can we do? How should we follow up? My parents also say you are 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 31, 2017, and his body was buried on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

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

Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, was arrested for following up on the case of Vahid Heidari’s murder in prison.

Sina Ghanbari

Sina Ghanbari, a 22-year-old young man and another arrestee of the December 2017 protests, was arrested on December 30, 2017, in Tehran and his body was handed over to his family on January 8, 2018.

Judicial officials claimed he committed suicide in the quarantine bathroom of Evin Prison, but the Follow-up Committee for December 2017 Arrests reported, citing two “eyewitnesses,” that Sina Ghanbari was interrogated two days before his death and “after arrest told his cellmates that they had house-cleaned him (beaten him) to the point that parts of his body were severely bruised.”

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the country’s Prosecutor General, on January 11, 2018, claimed that Sina Ghanbari was an addict and committed suicide. A scenario that was carried out for other prisoners killed in prison the same year.

Naser Alboshoke Derfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamesi

Naser Alboshoke Derfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Moghamesi, three young Arabs who were arrested in Ahvaz during the Shush and Hamidiye unrest in June 2011.

Naser Alboshoke, a 19-year-old youth who, according to his family, had no political activity and no connection with the Shush and Hamidiye unrest: “They said he killed himself while there were signs of beating on his face, chest, and body. His neck was bruised and it seemed a rope had been around his neck before. Then they said you have no right to hold ceremonies. My uncle objected and they didn’t give the body. They took Naser’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 it out of Ahvaz. They took the body to Ramshir city (Khalifabad) and buried it 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 judicial and security system: “They only made one phone call and told the family they buried him themselves, don’t follow up, you have no right to hold any ceremonies.”

Mohammad Kaabi was a law student and one of the Arab activists 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 anonymous phone call came to the family. A person on the line said I am calling from the Intelligence Office, Mohammad is dead and we buried him somewhere, don’t follow up anymore. This person said you have no right to hold any ceremonies either and be quiet.”

Reza Moghamesi is another Arab citizen who lost his life in the Ahvaz Intelligence Detention Center; very little information has been released about him so far and his family has remained silent.

Deaths That Were Officially Acknowledged

Among prison deaths, only a small number were officially acknowledged by the government and the families’ complaint cases went to court, although according to families, fair trials never took place. The complaint cases of many families whose loved ones died in prisons were dismissed in the early stages or remained unaddressed.

Zahra Kazemi

On June 23, 2003, while photographing a gathering of families of some political prisoners in front of Evin Prison, Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, was arrested and died 18 days later on July 11 of that year in Beheshti Hospital in Tehran.

Mohsen Armin, deputy speaker of the sixth parliament and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, accused Saeed Mortazavi from the official parliament podium and said: “Zahra Kazemi told the interrogators of the security forces that during interrogation at the prosecutor’s office, especially on her head, she was beaten. On July 5 at 12 at night they transferred her to the hospital and at 6 in the morning on the sixth, her condition worsened due to brain bleeding and she went into a coma and suffered brain death. The cause of the bleeding is identified as brain injury and skull fracture. Zahra Kazemi was kept under artificial breathing until July 19 despite brain death, and after that date her death was announced. Judge Mortazavi, after her death, outside his jurisdiction and without informing the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, summoned the head of foreign media of this ministry (Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaqt) and asked him to announce in an interview that the cause of her death was a stroke.”

A special committee of the office of the president attributed the cause of Zahra Kazemi’s death to “skull fracture, brain bleeding and its complications resulting from impact of a hard object on the head or head collision with 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 in 24 hours in the solitary cells where 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 room until three in the morning.”

Ali Younesi, a former Minister of Intelligence, announced 14 years later on February 25, 2018, in an interview that Zahra Kazemi, apparently during the inspection process, surrendering of items, and transfer to the detention center and not during interrogation, “was beaten due to resisting the surrender of her belongings and her head hit the street curb resulting in her brain bleeding, 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 Security Police due to posting critical content about the Islamic Republic on his blog and died as a result of torture injuries during detention.

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

In the court’s final ruling, Akbar Taghizadeh, a police officer of the Cyber Police and the main suspect in Sattar Beheshti’s murder case, was sentenced to three years imprisonment, 74 lashes, and two years of mandatory residency in Bandar Deylam.

Sattar Beheshti’s mother and his defense lawyer, who believe an intentional murder occurred and in protest of the “semi-intentional” determination of Sattar Beheshti’s death, did not attend the 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 November 1-2, while having been severely tortured and various torture marks were evident all over his body.

Kahrizak Deaths

Amir Javadi Far, Mohammad Kamrani, and Mohsen Rohani are three victims of Kahrizak Detention Center who died under torture and as a result of mistreatment by officers. The Islamic Republic accepted responsibility for their deaths. According to the court ruling in the Kahrizak case, two of the accused were sentenced to qisas (retaliation) for the murder of these three, who were arrested after the post-election protests began.

Nine other defendants were also sentenced to imprisonment, payment of diya (blood money), fines, temporary dismissal from service, and lashing, and one defendant was acquitted due to lack of evidence of the crime.

However, the families of Kahrizak victims, by waiving qisas for two of the perpetrators, demanded accountability from the main masterminds of this case, namely Saeed Mortazavi, Hassan Zareh Dehnavi (known as Judge Haddad), and Ali Akbar Heidari Far. Ultimately, Saeed 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 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 detainees and prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons is the lack of accountability by judicial and security officials of the Islamic Republic regarding their fate and the effort of various levels of government to cover up and falsify the narrative of what happened to these prisoners.

In some cases, however, there is no even falsification of the narrative and none of the government officials are willing to provide any explanation about the fate of the detainees, to the point that with more than two decades passing since Pirouz Davani, Saeid Zeinali, and Farshte Alizadeh’s fates remain unknown.

Pirouz Davani, a writer and translator and owner of the Pirouz publication, has been missing for 22 years and his body has not been found. He left his home on August 24, 1998, and his brother Hossein Davani says: “They made it so there was no trace of my brother, to the point that they didn’t even open a case file for Pirouz’s abduction. In May 1998, four months before Pirouz Davani’s disappearance, Mr. Razini told my brother to stop writing or you will disappear without a trace. They did exactly that. There is no trace of my brother left.”

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

Farshte Alizadeh, according to Saeid Zeinali’s mother, is another arrestee of the 1999 University Street protests whose fate remains unclear. Ms. Negabi says that until a few years ago she saw Farshte Alizadeh’s mother who was following her daughter’s fate, but after her death, she has no information whether other family members are still pursuing the case.

Zahra Baniyaacob and Mehrdad Taleshi

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

Zahra Baniyaacob, a medical student who had voluntarily gone 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 by Command for Promoting Virtue officers for what was called “commission of a manifest offense” and transferred to the morality department. Two days later, detention officials claimed she had committed suicide by using a fabric placard in the second-floor corridor of the detention center.

The family and lawyers of Ms. Baniyaacob rejected this claim, but their follow-ups and complaints ultimately led nowhere. According to her father, “they stole the case file, they destroyed the evidence and the crime scene, including my daughter’s clothes.”

The family of Mehrdad Taleshi, a 21-year-old youth from Divandareh, whose body was handed over to his family in February 2021 several days after his arrest, also called the Security Force’s announcement of his death from cardiac arrest as “absolute lies.” One of Mr. Taleshi’s relatives told Radio Farda that his family received his body with surgical stitches and signs of injury on his head.

These names are only those prisoners whose deaths in prison have been reported by media. The names of many other deceased prisoners have not reached the media due to security pressure on their families or families’ lack of access to media. Families whose imprisoned children’s bodies they buried at night due to security pressure, and even the right to mourn was taken from them.

 

Source: Radio Farda