Several political prisoners at the Greater Tehran Penitentiary were severely beaten and injured by a number of ordinary criminals hired by prison authorities on Friday.
The hired inmates attacked the political prisoners with machetes and knives.
The political prisoner were unlawfully kept in a ward that holds inmates convicted of dangerous crimes in Qarchak Prson.
During the attack, Shapour Ehsani Rad, Pouya Ghobadi, Esmail Gerami, Akbar Bagheri and Akbar Faraji were injured and taken to the prison’s infurmary.
Akbar Bagheri, Akbar Faraji, and Pouya Ghobadi were hit in the head with knives and flasks. All three are in critical condition. Hired prisoners closed the cafeteria doors so the prisoners could not escape. When the beating was over, and the cafeteria doors were opened, the Head of the Prison was waiting behind the door.
The prisoners have filed complaints several times to be transferred to other sections due to insecure conditions, but they were left unanswered.
Shapour Ehsani Rad is a worker activist sentenced to six years of prison. Despite his critical physical condition, he has been denied medical leave.
Pouya Ghobadi is a 27-year-old political prisoner sentenced to five years of prison. He was charged with waging war against God or “moharebeh”.
Esmail Gerami, 67, is also a worker activist, sentenced to five years of prison, 74 lashes, and a 2 million toman fine for “assembly and collusion against the state”.
Akbar Bagheri was sentenced to nine years of prison in 2018 for being a member of opposition groups and “spreading propaganda against the state”.
Akbar Faraji is an activist on the internet and was detained in 2018. He is serving a six years prison sentence.
Article 69 of the prisons organization’s regulations states that: “All convicts, upon being admitted to walled prisons or rehabilitation centers, will be separated based on the type and duration of their sentence, prior record, character, morals and behavior, in accordance with decisions made by the Prisoners Classification Council.”
But the authorities deliberately place political prisoners beside criminals, endangering their lives.
In June 2018, political prisoner Alireza Shirmohammadali was murdered at the Greater Tehran Penitentiary after being unlawfully held in a ward with inmates convicted of violent crimes.
