Prisoners Whose Freedom Cost Their Lives

Behnam Mohammadi, a political prisoner, died six days after being transferred to the intensive care unit of Laqman Hospital. Saleha Hosseini, Behnam Mohammadi’s wife, told Radio Farda that medical negligence, ignoring doctors’ assessments that the prisoner could not tolerate incarceration, failure to provide timely medical care, and delays in his hospitalization worsened his physical condition and ultimately led to his coma and death.

Mr. Mohammadi was sentenced to two years in prison after participating in a Gonabadi Dervish gathering in Tehran in February 2018, and his sentence was carried out on June 21st despite medical opinions stating he could not withstand imprisonment.

The process that took Behnam Mohammadi’s life within months has been repeated for many other political and ideological prisoners, and over the years dozens of such prisoners have lost their lives in prison.

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 concealment, falsification of accounts, 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 March 14, 1994, and killed in prison on November 26, 1995 after nine months of no news—his death labeled as natural—to Behnam Mohammadi, whom the General Directorate of Prisons claimed “of his own will and decision and without consulting a doctor, recklessly consumed multiple doses of his own and others’ medications simultaneously in prison.”

Saeid Emami, a high-ranking Ministry of Intelligence official and primary suspect in serial killings, revealed in a speech in Hamadan (whose audio file was released) that in prison, Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani was given one of his favorite foods—chickpeas—and because this food causes stomach constipation and constipation, interrogators gave him “an enema made from potassium” instead of a laxative enema; an enema that stopped Saidi Sirjani’s heart and killed him.

The cause of his death was attributed to a heart attack. Yet former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani wrote in his memoirs that “Mr. Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the judiciary, reported that the forensic medical report on Mr. Saidi Sirjani’s death in prison indicated it was natural death.”

There is no precise statistics on the number of prisoners who have died in Islamic Republic prisons, but in the early years following the 1979 revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic government, and during the 1980s, no explanation was given for prisoners’ deaths, and prisoners tortured to death were only returned as corpses to their families, without them having the right to ask about their children’s fates.

In recent years, however, Islamic Republic officials have claimed in many cases that prisoners committed suicide, or tried to present their deaths as natural deaths. This is while families have repeatedly told media outlets of the systematic elimination of their children by the judicial and security system through torture or denial of medical care access.

Akbar Mohammadi

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

Gol-Jahan Ashrafpur, his mother, explained the process of her son’s death in prison: “Akbar was severely tortured in prison. They had tortured him. He was broken. He underwent three surgeries. The doctor said he should not return to prison and prison conditions would be fatal 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 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 hunger strike in protest. They paid no attention and did not allow him to receive treatment.

The cause of Akbar Mohammadi’s death was announced by prison officials as a heart attack.

Hadi Saber

In June 2011, the body of Hadi Saber was removed from Evin Prison. A religious national activist who had gone on hunger strike in protest of events leading to Hale Sahabi’s death, 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 prison officials’ negligence and failure to attend to his condition.”

Firoozeh Saber, Hadi Saber’s sister, explained: “My brother had a bad attack at four in the morning on Friday, had severe chest pain in the chest area, and no matter what he and his cellmates said, prison officials paid no attention. He suffered two heart attacks and they still paid no 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.”

Sixty-four political prisoners who were cellmates with Mr. Saber in Ward 350 testified in a letter that “Hadi Saber, on the eighth day of his hunger strike, was severely beaten by individuals believed to be security and intelligence officers in the clinic.” Mr. Saber’s family also filed a complaint with the judiciary, stating: “The authorities must explain how someone who is on hunger strike and ill is brought to a clinic and instead of treatment, is beaten? This is a catastrophe and we will not let it pass.”

Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’ei, spokesman of the judiciary at the time, 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 have determined that no one is responsible in this matter.

Albarz Ghassemi-Shal

According to his family, Albarz Ghassemi-Shal, a First Navy Captain and deputy commander of the Rasht special unit, was in perfect health when arrested on May 13, 2008, but his body was removed from prison. Hamid Ghassemi-Shal, Albarz’s brother, who witnessed his brother going blind and then dying in prison, said: “In a visit, he told my sister his vision was blurred. 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 all I see is blackness, 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 malingering. From that day on, my brother’s health deteriorated very quickly, to the point where he couldn’t even bathe. He had completely lost his sight and had no bladder control. Several times the Evin prison clinic took him but could no longer find his vein. 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 (prosecutor of Tehran at the time) refused. They kept my brother in the clinic 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 cerebral hemorrhage. We don’t know if this claim is true; we only know that if they had allowed treatment, perhaps he would be alive now.”

The Ghassemi-Shal brothers had been charged with espionage and sentenced to death, but upon case review were acquitted of the charges, and Hamid Ghassemi-Shal was released from prison.

Amirhossein Hashmatsaran

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

Mohammad Reza Faqihi, Mr. Hashmatsaran’s lawyer, told Radio Farda that “the prison made no serious effort to treat the sick prisoner, and given that the prison is responsible for prisoners’ health, the prison officials’ negligence is clear.”

According to Mr. Hashmatsaran’s lawyer, this political prisoner had suffered from a heart condition months earlier and “had repeatedly fallen ill.” Nevertheless, the Shahriar revolutionary prosecutor left the requests of Mr. Hashmatsaran’s wife, Elaha Nazjoo, for this prisoner’s treatment unanswered.

Amirhossein Hashmatsaran was tried in 2004 on charges of forming a group called “Iran National Union Front” and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by the Shahriar revolutionary court.

Mohsen Degmehchi

On March 30, 2011, a renowned bazaar merchant who had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment died, although his wife said he had no problems when arrested and was completely healthy.

Maryam Elangee, Mr. Degmehchi’s wife, said: “The illness began in September 2010, exactly one year after arrest and in prison. They delayed taking him to a doctor for three months and he was not treated, 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 that’s when they diagnosed cancer. But the problem is that no one loses their life in such a short time, and with medication and medical care, the disease is controlled, but my husband was deprived of treatment and died 95 days after the onset of his illness. With proper medical follow-up, this catastrophe would not have happened at all.”

Mr. Degmehchi’s wife said: “Many times I went and said with whatever amount of bail you want, just give him a few days’ leave. 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 only had 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 supreme leader through his Facebook activities and also spreading propaganda against the system, and was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, died while his sister Elaha Sayadi Nasiri told Radio Farda that he had been on hunger strike for several days.

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

Mansour Radpur

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

His daughter Mahsa Radpur, 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 signs of beating were evident on his body. I’m certain they killed him because someone who has a stroke doesn’t end up with a body and limbs so mangled.”

Mr. Radpur was arrested in May 2007 and was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Karaj Islamic Revolutionary Court on charges of cooperation with the MEK, a sentence 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 organizations including the painters’ union and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, died in Rajaishahr Prison on September 13, 2015.

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

Afshin Asanlu

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

Farshta 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 Mansour Asanlu, a member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Syndicate, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment in 2009 on charges of collusion and assembly with intent to act against national security.

Talib Basati

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

Mr. Basati was arrested at his home on February 19, 2018, and his body was returned to his family on March 1 of the same year. BBC reported that Mr. Basati’s death certificate stated he died from “brain trauma” and signs of beating were visible on the 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 authorities had announced that her father had fallen into a coma from beatings and died.

Tayebeh Raji said her father was 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 Noor Majzouban website, which covered news related to Gonabadi Dervishes, reported that Mr. Raji was killed as a result of beatings during interrogation at a police detention center.

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

Alireza Shirmohamadi

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

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 Erfanian Kasb, the lawyer of Alireza Shirmohammadali, announced to ILNA news agency that two murderers were also held in solitary confinement in the same ward, which was always locked, but it was unclear how that night the two men pulled Mr. Shirmohammadali 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 their deaths were attributed by officials and judicial and security authorities to suicide.

Amidreza Mirseyafi

A young blogger who was imprisoned on February 9, 2009, died 42 days later in Laqman Hospital, and prison officials attributed the cause of death to drug poisoning.

Amidreza 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, told his family that in response to the autopsy, the cause of death was written as “consuming 30 to 40 propranolol pills.”

Amirparviz Mirseyafi, Amidreza’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 shoulders and lower back were bruised. His skull was fractured. The sheet the body was wrapped in was completely bloodied. We were told he took pills, his blood pressure dropped and he died. This cannot be true, and he definitely was beaten; I’m certain of it. I know he was beaten, his condition deteriorated, and he was not treated and he passed away.”

Dr. Hossam Firoozi, Amidreza Mirseyafi’s cellmate, also testified that in the prison clinic, in the face of Amidreza’s insistence on treatment, he was “beaten and told he was malingering.”

Kavous Sidamami

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

Kavous Sidamami was a sociology Ph.D. and faculty member of the Islamic and Political Sciences School at Imam Sadiq University. He was also the chief executive of the “Parsian Heritage Wildlife Institute.”

Ibrahim Lotfolahi

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

Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer for Lotfolahi’s family, said: “The court confirmed the investigator’s ruling of suicide and announced that no murder had occurred. We objected and said that given that the forensic medical opinion referred to signs of beating and bleeding in the nose, we requested further investigation and demanded exhumation, but unfortunately neither the investigator nor the Sanandaj prosecutor agreed and said the forensic medical opinion had already been issued and exhumation has no legal basis. They said that in the prison bathroom he hanged himself with a shower rod and committed suicide. While we believed the matter should be clarified and the family should have peace of mind about what exactly happened, but unfortunately it was not agreed.”

Valiolah Faiz Mahdiavi

Valiolah Faiz Mahdiavi 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 had been on hunger strike in protest of the way Gohardasht Prison authorities treated him for two weeks before falling into a coma and being 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 June 2009 protests, was summoned to Isfahan’s Information Office and his lifeless body was found two days later.

Farhad Tajri, a parliament member who was a member of parliament’s follow-up committee, along with the head of Gilangharb Information Office, visited Mr. Parnedakh’s home and asked them to announce that their son had died in an accident. However, state news agency IRNA claimed that Mohammad Javad Parnedakh was one of the main perpetrators of riots in Isfahan and had committed suicide.

The Parnedakh family, rejecting these claims, filed a complaint seeking to clarify the murder of their son; a complaint that was not accepted and the case was closed. Sadegh Parnedakh, his brother, said: “We are an ethnic minority; they won’t even return our body to us, they won’t even accept our complaint. What can we do? How should we follow up? Our parents also say you’re the only one left and we’re afraid something will happen to you. That’s why we’ve left the case to God. God will judge.”

Vahid Heidari

Vahid Heidari, 22, a street vendor and protester from Arak, was arrested on December 10, 2017, and his body was buried on Saturday, December 16.

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

Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer, was arrested for pursuing the case of Vahid Heidari’s killing in prison.

Sina Qanbari

Sina Qanbari, a 22-year-old youth and another arrestee from December 2017 protests, was arrested on December 10 of that year in Tehran and his body was returned to his family on December 19.

Judicial authorities claimed he committed suicide in the quarantine bathroom of Evin Prison, but the December 2017 Detention Follow-up Committee, citing two “eyewitnesses,” reported that Sina Qanbari was interrogated two days before his death and “after his arrest told his cellmates he had been beaten to such an extent that some parts of his body were severely bruised.”

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the prosecutor general, claimed on December 21 of the same year that Sina Qanbari was an addict and committed suicide. A scenario applied to other prisoners killed that year.

Nasser Alboshoke Darfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Mogamasi

Nasser Alboshoke Darfshan, Mohammad Kaabi, and Reza Mogamasi, three young Arab men arrested in February 2011 during unrest in the cities of Shush and Hamidiyeh in Ahvaz.

Nasser Alboshoke, a 19-year-old youth who, according to his family, had no political activities or connection to unrest in Shush and Hamidiyeh: “They said he killed himself while there were signs of beating on Nasser’s face, chest, and body. His neck was bruised as if a rope had been around his neck. Then they said you have no right to hold a funeral. My uncle objected and they didn’t return the body. They took Nasser’s body to the morgue of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz and it stayed there for 11 days, then they returned the body on condition that the family remain silent, say nothing, and take it out of Ahvaz. They took the body to Ramshir (Khalaf Abad) and buried it there.”

Mohammad Kaabi, another Arab citizen, was 35 years old, and only one phone call from the Information Office closed his case and death in the judicial and security system: “They just made one phone call 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 arrest, an unknown phone call with no traceable number came to the family. A person on the line said I’m calling from the Information Office, Mohammad has died and we buried him somewhere, don’t follow up anymore. This person said you have no right to hold any ceremony and stay silent.”

Reza Mogamasi, another Arab citizen, is someone who lost his life in the Ahvaz Information Office detention center; little information has been released about him so far and his family has remained silent.

Deaths Officially Recognized

Among prison deaths, only a small number were officially recognized by the government and family 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 closed at initial stages or remained unresolved.

Zahra Kazemi

On June 24, 2003, while photographing a gathering of families of political prisoners in front of Evin Prison, Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, was arrested and died on July 10 of the same year in Baghiyatollah Aazam Hospital in Tehran.

Mohsen Armin, deputy speaker of the sixth parliament and member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, pointed an accusatory finger at Saeid Mortazavi from the official parliamentary platform and said: “Zahra Kazemi tells interrogators of the law enforcement forces that during interrogation at the prosecutor’s office, particularly on her head, she was beaten. On June 29 at 12 midnight, she is transferred to the hospital and at 6 a.m. on the 30th, her condition worsens due to cerebral hemorrhage and she falls into a coma and suffers brain death. The cause of hemorrhage, brain injury and skull fracture are diagnosed. Zahra Kazemi remains on life support until July 10 despite brain death, and after this date 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 this ministry (Mohammad Hossein Khoshkhabar) and asks him to announce in an interview that the cause of her death was a stroke.”

The special committee of the former presidency attributed the cause of Ms. Kazemi’s death to “skull fracture, cerebral hemorrhage and its complications resulting from impact of a hard object to the head or head collision with a hard object.”

According to Shirin Ebadi, lawyer for Zahra Kazemi’s family, “they finally announced that the killer is not identified. While we know that 24-hour filming takes place in Evin Prison in solitary cells where Zahra Kazemi was also in solitary. While it was reflected in the case that Mr. Mortazavi as prosecutor was busy interrogating her until 3 a.m.”

Ali Yunesi, former Minister of Information, announced 14 years later on February 25, 2018, in an interview that Zahra Kazemi, apparently during the inspection process, return of items, and transfer to detention and not during interrogation, “was beaten due to resistance to return her belongings, and her head hit the street curb, causing her cerebral 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 cyber police for posting critical content about the Islamic Republic on his blog and died as a result of injuries sustained from torture during detention.

The court found Sattar Beheshti’s death to be “semi-intentional murder” and sentenced his killer, a law enforcement officer, to three years imprisonment.

In the final court ruling, Akbar Taghizadeh, a law enforcement cyber police officer and main defendant in Sattar Beheshti’s murder case, was sentenced to three years imprisonment, 74 lashes, and two years mandatory residence in Bandar Bushehr.

Sattar Beheshti’s mother and his defense lawyer, who believe this was premeditated murder and protested the “semi-intentional” classification of Sattar Beheshti’s killing, did not participate in that court proceeding.

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 he had been severely tortured and signs of various tortures were evident throughout his body.

Kahrizak Deaths

Amir Javadi Far, Mohammad Kamrani, and Mohsen Rohul-Amin 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. Based on the Kahrizak case court ruling, two of the defendants in the case of these three deaths who were arrested following protests over election results were sentenced to execution.

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

Families of Kahrizak victims, forgoing retribution for two of the perpetrators, sought accountability from the main masterminds of this case: Saeid Mortazavi, Hassan Zare Dehnoei (known as Judge Haddad), and Ali Akbar Heidarifare. Ultimately, Saeid Mortazavi was sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial services and five years dismissal from government services and a fine of 200,000 tomans.

The Islamic Republic evaded accepting responsibility for the deaths of Ramin Aghazadeh Qahremani and Ahmad Najati Kargar, who died as a result of complications from mistreatment after their 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 refusal of judicial and security officials to accept responsibility for their fates and attempts by government officials at various levels to conceal the truth and falsify the accounts of what has happened to these prisoners.

In some cases, however, there is not even falsification, and none of the government officials are willing to provide any explanation about the fate of detainees, to the point that more than two decades have passed since the disappearances of Pirouz Davani, Saeed Zeinali, and Farshta Alizadeh with no information available.

Pirouz Davani, a writer and translator and publisher of Pirouz magazine, has been missing for 22 years and his body has never been found. He left home on September 3, 1998, and his brother Hossein Davani says: “They made sure there was no trace of my brother left, so much so that they didn’t even open a case file for his kidnapping. 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. No trace of my brother remained.”

Saeed Zeinali, a computer graduate from Tehran University, was arrested at his home during the July 1999 university avenue protests, and after 21 years have passed, his family has no news of his fate. Akram Naghaabi, Saeed Zeinali’s mother, announced: “Three armed officers came and said we’re taking Saeed for 10 minutes of questioning. Saeed was 22 when arrested. Two or three months after arrest he called from prison, said I’m fine and follow up on my affairs, after that I had no news of my son.”

Farshta Alizadeh, according to Saeed Zeinali’s mother, is another arrested during July 1999 university avenue protests whose fate is unknown. Ms. Naghaabi says that until a few years ago she saw Farshta Alizadeh’s mother, who was following up on her daughter’s fate, but after her death has no information about whether other family members are still pursuing the case.

Zahra Baniyaqub and Mehrdad Taleshi

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

Zahra Baniyaqub, a medical student who had voluntarily gone to a remote village in Iran to serve in a medical service plan, was arrested on October 11, 2007, in one of Hamadan’s parks on charges of what was called “committing an obvious crime” by agents of the Amr Bil Ma’ruf command and transferred to the Crimes Section. Two days later, detention center officials claimed she had committed suicide using a cloth placard in the hallway of the second floor of the detention center.

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

The family of Mehrdad Taleshi, a 21-year-old young man from Divandarreh, whose body was returned to his family in February 2021 a few days after arrest, called the law enforcement’s announcement of his death from cardiac arrest “absolute falsehood.” One of Mr. Taleshi’s relatives told Radio Farda that his family received the body of their son with signs of injury and stitches on his head.

These names are only the names of those prisoners whose deaths in prison have been reported. The names of many other victims remain unknown due to security pressure on their families or families’ lack of access to media. Families who have buried their prisoner children at night due to security pressure and have been denied the right to mourn.

 

Source: Radio Farda