Locked Up in Karaj

Spotlight on Political Prisoners in One Iranian City

Several dozen prisoners held in Karaj, west of Tehran, are serving prison terms for exercising their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

HRW’s 59-page report, “Locked Up in Karaj: Spotlight on Political Prisoners in One City,” is based on a review of 189 cases in three prisons in the city of Karaj, including the charges they faced, details of their trials before revolutionary courts, and information from lawyers, prisoners’ families, and others. Human Rights Watch concluded that in 63 of these cases, authorities had arrested the prisoners, and revolutionary courts had convicted and sentenced them, solely because they exercised fundamental rights such as free speech and rights to peaceful assembly or association.

“The election of a new, avowedly moderate president a year ago raised hopes that many of Iran’s political prisoners would soon walk free, but many remain behind bars,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The lion’s share of responsibility for releasing these prisoners rests with the judiciary, but President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet should be doing more to press for their release.”

To read HRW’s report on political prisoners in Karaj, please click here.

Photo credit: Clockwise from top left: Loghman Moradian, Zaniar Moradian, Kourosh Ziari, Masoud Bastani, Mohammad Ali (Pirouz) Mansouri, Saeed Rezaei. (HRW/© Private)

Police Brutally Attacks Political Prisoners at Evin

Dozens Beaten; Personal Belongings Smashed

Reports from Iran indicate that on Thursday around 100 security agents and riot police, accompanied by IRGC and Intelligence Ministry personnel, entered the notorious Evin Prison, and its Section 350, where political prisoners are held, to conduct “a search.”

The security agents used extreme violence when prisoners objected to the irregular search, with the police smashing TV sets, equipment and personal belongings of the prisoners, and beating dozens of detainees who were later placed in solitary confinement at Section 240.

The Fascist-type search of political prisoners’ cells, beating the detainees and smashing their personal belongings in this day and age is outrageous. Reporters Without Borders, among other human rights organizations, has condemned the police brutality. To read their report, please click here.

File photo: Evin Prison, Tehran. (roxanasaberi.com)

Student Protests in Iran - Marking 16 Azar - Student Day

Iran's Student Day - 16 Azar - was marked by student protests and chants in support of the release of political prisoners. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that students at Shahid Beheshti University carried banners, “Political prisoners must be released!” and “Long live Rouhani! Long live Khatami!” (ISNA/Payvand, 7 December)

Photo credit: Student protests mark 16 Azar, the country’s Student Day. (ISNA)

Iran Frees 80 Political Prisoners

Iranian government announced that it had freed 80 political prisoners today. The freed prisoners were arrested in the aftermath of the massive popular demonstrations after the 2009 presidential election. They were freed just hours after President Hassan Rouhani departed for New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly.

Rouhani and his foreign policy team will be engaged in high-stake diplomacy during and on the sidelines of UNGA. The mass release of the political prisoners (the Iranian government calls them “security prisoners”) will surely help Rouhani and his team in what is now called the “charm offensive” to raise Iran’s standing in the international arena.

We do not have the names of the released prisoners yet, but will publish it as soon as available.

File photo: Logo of Amnesty International 

Iran Frees Nasrin Sotoudeh, Other Political Prisoners

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran's highest profile political prisoners, was freed on Wednesday. 14 other prisoners who were linked to the mass protests after the 2009 re-election of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were also freed.

Sotoudeh, 50, who defended journalists and rights activists, was arrested in 2010. She told reporters today that she “free forever,” not on temporary release, and planned to resume her legal career.

List of political prisoners who were freed (Kaleme, 18 September):

Nasrin Sotoudeh
Feyzollah Arab Sorqi
Mahsa Amr-Abadi
Mahboubeh Karami
Mohsen Amin-Zad
Taher Mousavi

Maryam Jalili
Mitra Rahmati
Ali Khodabakhsh
Nader Babaie
Mohammad Velayati
Hossein Zarini
Farah Vazehan
Zhila Makondi
Kefayat Malak-Mohammadi

Photo credit: Nasrin Sotoudeh sits with her husband Reza Khandan, her son Nima and her daughter Mehraveh at their home in Tehran after being freed from prison. September 18, 2013. (Behrouz Mehria/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian Judiciary Directive To Reduce Prison Population

By: Jabbar Fazeli, MD

The Iranian judiciary published a directive for prosecutors, judges, and the prison system with the goal of decreasing imprisonment and reducing the prison population.

The judiciary directive dated June 19, 2013 is supposedly based on the wishes of the supreme leader, as expressed in a speech he gave in Mashhad eleven months ago (9,10).

In an another development, announced on the same day, 1249 prisoners are pardoned by the supreme leader. It is not clear if any political prisoners are included in this prisoner release.  Only one political prisoner, journalist Jila Baniyaghoob, has been released since the announcement.

On the face of it, it looks like the supreme leader and his judiciary is trying to preempt any initiative by the newly elected "moderate" president on the prisoners issue.  The regime is placing itself in a position of saying "we already did that", in case the new president pushes for "prison reforms" or "judiciary reforms".

These initiatives also stress who's in charge in the Islamic republic, the supreme leader's name is features prominently in both news releases. 

More than 80 new prisoners arrive in Iranian prisons every day (7), with the episodic  mass arrests on special occasions. In item 5 of the 29 item directive, the judiciary makes a point of asking for more coordination before any "mass arrests" by the "security forces".

One practical aspect of the judiciary action is the fact that Iran has about a quarter of a million prisoners, but an official prison capacity of just over 100,000. Even though the Iranian government is working to reduce the prison population through executions (10), the prisons remain crowded.

Source: (10)

Many of the items in the directive deal with "payments" and "bail" money--That is understandable given the hard economic times, for the Iranian regime that is.

None of the 29 items in the judiciary directive address the issue of political prisoners. Iran maintains that it has no political prisoners, even as their names and pictures are becoming more public in Iran and the rest of he world (1,2,3,4,5,6). 

Ayatollah Boroujerdi is in prison for calling for separation of religion and politics, and calling for a referendum
Photo source: voiran, migspanel 

I doubt Rouhani will have the power to order the release of thousands of political prisoners. The last president couldn't even visit his friend in prison without a permission (that he never got) (12). 

President Rouhani is expected to complain, behind closed doors, and submit to the will of the dictator on literally everything.

Free political prisoners
Photo source: Nobelwomeninitiave.org

Ps. I am sure that this topic will tempt the cyber-Basij to switch topic to US prison issues, the high rate of incarceration in the United States, or GITMO. I would like to point out that none of the US issues have anything to do with Iran, and as such, they can not serve as an excuse for Iran to arrest, impression, and execute its people. So please try to come up with some other excuse if you must.

Below is the full Judiciary directive in Persian: 

References:

(1) Interview with an ex-prisoner

http://www.dw.de/behind-the-walls-of-irans-evin-prison/a-16835498

(2) The Guardian's Political Prisoners database (incomplete)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/may/21/iran-prisoners-of-conscience-interactive

(3) the story of Ebrahim Yazdi

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/05/29/bob-rae-an-iranian-insider-then-an-activist-now-a-prisoner/

(4) Easing of prison conditions for Amir Hekmati 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/04/world/middleeast/iran-eases-prison-conditions-for-ex-marine.html?_r=0

(5) faces of Iranian political prisoners

http://www.humanrights.gov/2012/12/27/faces-of-iran-citizens-unjustly-imprisoned/

(6) free all political prisoners Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-All-Political-Prisoners-in-Iran/140315882665290

(7) Iran offers bachelor degree in how to be a prison warden

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9426322/Iran-offers-a-bachelors-degree-in-how-to-be-a-prison-warden.html

(8) http://www.ettelaat.com/new/index.asp?fname=2013\06\06-23\22-33-18.htm&storytitle=%E3%E6%C7%DD%DE%CA%20%D1%E5%C8%D1%20%E3%DA%D9%E3%20%C7%E4%DE%E1%C7%C8%20%C8%C7%20%DA%DD%E6%20%E6%20%CA%CE%DD%ED%DD%20%E3%CC%C7%D2%C7%CA%201249%20%CA%E4%20%C7%D2%20%E3%CD%DF%E6%E3%C7%E4

(9)http://www.ettelaat.com/new/index.asp?fname=2013\06\06-23\22-43-18.htm&storytitle=%CF%D3%CA%E6%D1%C7%E1%DA%E3%E1%20%98%C7%E5%D4%20%CC%E3%DA%ED%CA%20%D2%E4%CF%C7%E4%ED%C7%E4%20%98%D4%E6%D1

(10) http://www.sharghdaily.ir/Modules/News/PrintVer.aspx?News_Id=13485&V_News_Id=&Src=Main

(11)http://www.iranrights.org/english/newsletter.php

(12) http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article3576164.ece