A group of 12 political prisoners detained in Unit 4 of Qezel-Hesar Prison, located in Karaj, Alborz Province, have issued a statement warning of a potential humanitarian catastrophe. According to the statement, authorities are planning to transfer approximately 1,700 prisoners from Unit 4 to other overcrowded sections of the prison and repurpose Unit 4 as part of the Alborz Central Prison facility.
Severe Overcrowding and Dire Conditions
The statement highlights the already deplorable conditions within Qezel-Hesar, one of Iran’s largest prisons. Officially designed to hold 8,000 inmates, the prison currently houses approximately 12,000 detainees. Prisoners are packed into cells, prayer halls, and even corridors in a manner described as inhumane and catastrophic.
Unit 2 alone holds around 1,600 prisoners on death row, well over its intended capacity. The relocation of Unit 4 prisoners threatens to exacerbate the situation, leading to heightened tensions and worsened living conditions throughout the facility.
The political prisoners’ statement condemns the disregard for basic human dignity within the Iranian prison system. They argue that inmates are treated as mere statistics, deprived of essential rights and safeguards. The statement reads:
“In the secluded confines of a system devoid of oversight, prisoners are viewed only as numbers—devoid of human dignity, families awaiting their return, or even basic human rights.”
The statement also criticizes officials for failing to address the systemic problems within the prison system, including the high rates of incarceration and executions in the country. The prisoners emphasize that authorities’ plans to construct new prisons do little to address the underlying issues of overcrowding and neglect.
International Call to Action
The political prisoners warn that the lack of international scrutiny allows Iranian authorities to perpetuate these violations unchecked. They urge global human rights organizations, the families of prisoners, and the Iranian public to expose and challenge the appalling conditions in Qezel-Hesar and other detention facilities.
The situation at Qezel-Hesar Prison reflects a broader pattern of neglect and human rights violations within Iran’s penal system. The international community is urged to take immediate action to investigate and advocate for the rights of prisoners, as the conditions pose not only a legal and ethical challenge but also a humanitarian crisis in the making.
Full Text of the Statement by Political Prisoners in Unit 4 of Qezel-Hesar Prison
We, the undersigned political prisoners in Unit 4 of Qezel-Hesar Prison, warn of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe due to the authorities’ recent decisions. The following is our statement in full:
The official capacity of Qezel-Hesar Prison is approximately 8,000 inmates. However, this capacity has long been exceeded. Currently, just in Unit 1, there are as many prisoners as the prison was originally designed to hold. The other units, too, are housing inmates far beyond their intended limits. For instance, Unit 2 holds around 1,600 inmates who have been sentenced to death.
Under these conditions, the regime’s authorities plan to relocate approximately 1,700 inmates—mainly housed in Unit 4—to other parts of the prison, converting Unit 4 into part of Alborz Central Prison. This transfer will only worsen the already unbearable overcrowding.
The issue at hand is not merely about preventing a disaster because ‘Qezel-Hesar’ itself is a disaster. Currently, about 12,000 prisoners are being crammed into cells, prayer halls, and corridors in what can only be described as inhuman and catastrophic conditions.
It is critical to highlight that in the secluded and unregulated environment of the regime’s prison system, inmates are seen merely as statistics. They are stripped of their ‘human dignity,’ treated as though they have no families waiting anxiously for them, and denied even the most basic human rights that should be upheld.
Those in power, indifferent to the suffering of others, make decisions in isolation. Meanwhile, their spokespersons at the Judiciary, who lack any genuine knowledge or concern about the catastrophic conditions in the prisons, speak arrogantly about closing certain facilities and constructing new ones.
It is as though they are oblivious to the ever-increasing rates of incarceration compared to the release rate. Even after releasing a small number of inmates under pretexts such as ‘celebrating February 11’ [the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution] or deporting Afghan nationals, it takes less than a month for the prison population to surpass the pre-release numbers, deepening the crisis.
This egregious neglect of prisoners’ basic rights—such as a place to sleep or space to move—stems from the complete lack of oversight over the prison system. If the international community, the families of inmates, and the Iranian people were made aware of the reality that prisoners are being housed like books on shelves, with three-tiered bunk beds as the norm, perhaps continuous and widespread campaigns could be launched alongside the existing campaigns like ‘No to Execution,’ specifically to oppose the deadly conditions and mismanagement within Iran’s prisons.
We, as political prisoners in Unit 4 of Qezel-Hesar, strongly warn of the disastrous consequences of this recent decision [to convert Unit 4 into part of Alborz Central Prison]. We also express our profound objection and concern regarding these inhumane practices and the violation of fundamental human rights.
Signatories:
Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb
Sepehr Emam Jomeh
Loghman Aminpour
Ahmadreza Haeri
Meysam Dehban-Zadeh
Arsham Rezaei
Reza Salmandi
Salahaddin Ziaei
Hamzeh Suwari
Mostafa Ramazani
Saeed Masouri
Reza Mohammad-Hosseini
