Iran: A Report from Rajai Shahr Prison

July 29, 2010

I ask anyone who cares about Human Rights, to read the heart breaking letter written by Saeed Masouri, describing the harrowing conditions at Rajai Shar Prison. I ask that you read his account and inform the world of the Human Rights violations and atrocities taking place behind the prison walls in Iran’s notorious prisons; for remaining silent is turning our back on humanity, common decency and the dignity for life.

After10 Years in Prison, Saeed Masouri Is Denied His Basic Rights

Dr. Saeed Masouri is a political prisoner sentenced to life in prison, and although he has spent many years in Rajai prison, he is not being allowed to exercise his right to a temporary release.

Dr. Masouri was convicted of association with PMOI,  and he was initially sentenced to death, but later his sentencing was reduced to life in prison. In spite of being in prison for the past 10 years, he has not been allowed to exercise his basic right as a prisoner to use the temporary release program.

Thursday 29th July 2010  In a moving letter, Saeed Masouri incarcerated since 2000, describes the harrowing conditions at Rajai Shahr prison. Dr. Saeed Masouri was arrested in December 2000, in the city of Dezful and is currently being held in Section 10, Ward 4 at Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj. His original trial and appeals court originally resulted in a death sentence. During his 10 years in prison he has spent 3 years in solitary confinement in prisons in Tehran and Dezful. After extensive efforts, his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.

According to reports by HRDAI, in the past 10 years, Masouri has never been allowed conditional leave from prison and during his initial arrest and time in solitary confinement, he endured extensive physical and psychological torture. Masouri was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison, renowned for its inhumane conditions a few years ago. In a letter written from inside prison and provided HRDAI News Agency “Human Rights House of Iran”, Masouri describes the inhumane prison conditions. The content of this letter is as follows:

Life outside the prison continues as usual and it is difficult for people to imagine what hell and human tragedy is taking place a few meters behind the prison walls that they casually pass by every day; much like those who lived around the camps in Auschwitz and Dachau and perhaps had no idea what was going on inside the walls of those notorious camps.

I want to paint a picture of Rajai Shahr prison though large in the eyes of the citizens of Karaj, in reality a very small prison because of over crowding. This is a different world, much like hell depicted in fictional movies, full of fire and smoke. A world filled with burnt, black, disheveled faces, naked bodies covered with sweat and red marks from the sting of lice. A world filled with torn trousers scraps of which are used as belts; bare and filthy feet, clothes worn inside out and covered with lice; torn, mismatched slippers. A world in which you are exposed to polluted air, the extreme smell of putrid waste, overflowing sewage from toilets, the toxicity of dry vomit, infectious phlegm and the body odor from bodies in close proximity, rarely given the opportunity to bathe; all coming to a climax with the smell of urine by those who are unable to control themselves.

All this against the backdrop of the tremendous uproar and cries of prisoners who seem to spend their entire day in lines. Prisoners standing in lines holding plastic bottles that have turned black and serve as tea cups; standing in multiple, long, packed lines to use the bathroom, to take a shower, etc.

Faces gaunt with malnutrition, yet hidden behind dense beards and disheveled hair; heart breaking coughs as a result of lung problems caused by contaminated indoor air; unrecognizable bodies that are associated with starving children in Africa; masses of prisoners across the corridors, looking as though they are dead, heat stricken, with soulless eyes staring at the walls and the ceiling; naked bodies searching for lice in the seams of the clothing, bodies that touch other bodies as they pass them by, all too accustomed to the images around them.

A host of other prisoners, deprived of the ability to take a walk because of the crowds, stand alone or in twos, watching others, playing with the stitches on their wrists and neck resulting from self inflicted injuries. Many are holding a small towel or piece of cloth used every few minutes to dry the sweat that accumulates on their head and faces; a cloth that also serves as a means to mask their nose and mouth in order to better tolerate the stench of the contaminated air. Add to all this the commotion and deafening noise of their [prison guards] speakers, shouting out vulgar insults, demanding silence and giving orders to observe the bathroom and toilet rules, etc. You will only understand the severity of the conditions when you realize that a place designed to accommodate at maximum 90 people, is holding over 1100 prisoners. There is one bathroom for every 250 prisoners. There is one bar of soap or liquid soap for every 500 prisoners, one toilet (often full and over flowing) per 170 prisoners. Every 5 prisoners have access to 5 square meters of space, forcing prisoners to use the space in corridors and stairways; one blanket per every 5 – 6 prisoners; prisoners who are forced outside their prison cells from 7pm to 7am, standing in the outdoor areas because of the lack of space indoors. Even in the open air areas, you seldom find a place to stand. Food is often served to many on a piece of newspaper and the only means to eat it, is to find some place to sit in the open air areas. This condition is even obvious to the guards who not face the daunting task of counting and keeping track of the prisoners in such a large crowd, but are also exposed to all kinds of disease and illnesses.

Surprisingly, from early morning until nightfall, the television set can be heard, with talk of human dignity, human rights and the way we manage the world, but not a word is said about what is happening here behind these prison walls. Apparently, public health, bathrooms and toilets are so tied to our country’s security that talking about them is considered a crime against the national security of our nation. Take for example Reza Jooshan, a 22 year old who was moved to solitary confinement because he had the audacity to speak out and complain about the conditions. Though his transfer to solitary confinement came as no surprise to me, the conditions at Rajai Shahr and other prisons are so dire that they will not be solved by sending people to solitary confinement. It is no wonder that for many prisoners incarcerated in Iran’s notorious prisons, being held in a place like Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib jail is but an unattainable dream; execution becoming their only tangible hope to escape from this unbearable human tragedy.

Saeed Masouri
Rajai Shahr Prison
July 2010

Link for the news in Farsi: http://hrdai.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-post_5342.html

Translation by:  Persian2English.com

Call to save the lives of two political prisoners on hunger strike

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

NCRI - The Iranian Resistance calls for efforts to save the lives of political prisoners who are on hunger strike in Gohardasht prison in Karaj, west of Tehran.

Mr. Reza Joshan, a political prisoner in Ward 6 of Gohardasht prison who has been on hunger strike since July 21 in protest against intolerable situation and pressure in the prison, was transferred to Gohardasht Prison's clinic and then to another hospital outside prison on July 26 because of his deteriorating health condition.

Meanwhile the health of Khalid Hardani, a political prisoner in Ward 4 of the Gohardasht Prison, who has also been on hunger strike since Thursday July 22 to protest the attacks and pressures exerted by the regime's henchmen and agents, has been deteriorating.

Mr. Arjang Davoudi, a political prisoner from Ward 3 of Gohardasht prison is kept with dangerous inmates. His health is also deteriorating after two weeks of hunger strike. He has been subjected to torture and many kinds of pressure since November 2003 in Evin, Bandar Abbas and Gohardasht prisons.

The Iranian Resistance warns about the lives of hunger striking political prisoners and calls on all international authorities and human rights organizations, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and special rapporteurs on arbitrary arrests and torture at the UN, to adopt urgent measures to investigate the situation of hunger striking political prisoner.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 28, 2010

http://ncr-iran.org/content/view/8594/1/

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that talks with the major powers over Iran's disputed nuclear program will start in early September regardless of the conditions he set earlier last month.

"Any response they give us would not matter. We prefer their response to be constructive, but if their response is not constructive, we would follow negotiations accordingly," he said.

Ahmadinejad also added he wanted the presence of other countries outside the U.N. Security Council and Germany at the negotiations, a possible reference to Turkey and Brazil who came up with their own nuclear compromise with Iran earlier.

"The Westerners know that they cannot force Iran to withdraw," Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad called the octopus a symbol of Western decadence also and accused him of spreading "western propaganda and superstition."

Paul was mentioned by Mr. Ahmadinejad on a number of occasions during a speech in Tehran at the weekend. Paul recently became an international celebrity after correctly predicting the outcome of all German World Cup matches.

The Iranian President said: "Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values."

One of his first acts of office as President was to dedicate approximately $20 million to the restoration and improvement of the mosque at Jamkaran, where the Mahdi is claimed to dwell.

Attorney in Iran stoning case remains missing

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Tehran, Iran (CNN) - An attorney representing an imprisoned Iranian woman facing possible execution by stoning remained missing Tuesday, although his wife and brother-in-law were in custody, a human rights activist said.

Mohammad Mostafaei's wife and brother-in-law were being held at Tehran's Evin prison, said Mina Ahadi, chairwoman of the International Committee against Execution and Stoning. Neither has had access to a lawyer, she said.

Mostafaei's father-in-law was contacted by officials Monday, who told him that both his children would be freed in exchange for Mostafaei himself, Ahadi said. She said Monday that Mostafaei's office has been closed.

Mostafaei represents Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, who was convicted of adultery in 2006 and was originally sentenced to death by stoning. The sentence was put on hold earlier this month after an international outcry.

Earlier this month, Mostafaei told CNN that his client confessed to the crime after being subjected to 99 lashes with a whip. She later recanted the confession and has denied wrongdoing, he said.

Iranian state media reported this month that the nation's judiciary chief halted the execution of Ashtiani.

"Although the verdict still stands and is definite, the execution has been halted on humanitarian grounds from the order of the honorable judiciary chief, and will not be implemented at this time," Malek Ajdar Sharifi, a judiciary official in East Azerbaijan province, told Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency.

There is no clear timeline for Ashtiani's case, Ahadi said Tuesday. The imprisoned woman has two attorneys, and Ahadi was expecting an update from the second. He must get an appointment with authorities in order to move forward on the case, she said.

For full text click here

Adepeju Solarin

Elnaz Babazadeh was kidnapped, beaten, raped, and murdered earlier this month in Tabriz, an Iranian city that’s an Azerbaijani stronghold. The earliest online news reports show information for July 12. However, it is believed she had been missing about a week before as her parents found her body at a local morgue.

What makes this all the more painful is the lack of media dissemination in non-Iranian news outlets. Google searches (and other sites) produce little to nothing about this news report. The non-reporting gives credence to the Iranian government and its conspiracy-theory supporters about how the West turns a blind eye to human rights violations, except when it suits them of course.

It makes little sense. Last year the all media outlets, from CNN to Fox news were saturated with Neda Agha-Soltan’s story—the young woman who was gunned down at a rally. Pain is pain, thus there will be no comparisons, however, the question is: WHY? Why, after two weeks is there still no significant news story, except the LA Times Babylon and Beyond entry, which addressed the issue as a sub-point under the Sakineh stoning. True there are so many human rights violations occurring daily, and it is sometimes impossible to report all of it. Nevertheless, this one could have been reported too!

Some, like the Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement (SANAM), believe the lack of interest is due to its location, Tabriz, a predominantly non-Persian region and with an offender whose father is a high-ranking Revolutionary Guard member. Little of this sort of crime seem to happen in Tehran for all its “bad hijab” styles (see above image by Saghar Daeeri). Why?

SANAM’s argument is plausible considering that ADAPP exists to voice human rights violations happening to Azerbaijanis in Iran. Granted Elnaz was no political activist—and neither was Neda—and there is no viral video of the atrocious crime, this is still a human rights violation of enormous proportions.  Why wasn’t this story explored, investigated, and disseminated? True, Iran is a sovereign country, (I feel the need to always mention this, as the subject of human rights is prickly for Iran and world leaders) but that does not tie the hands of other nations in discussing such tragic events. It is no wonder there is such back and forth when it comes to discussing human rights on the international stage. Each side calls a bluff, because leaders lack integrity.

And the kicker:  well, a few days later, news-blog sites Persian2English and theHuman Rights Activists News Agency, report that Iran’s Interior Minister, Mustafa Mohammed Najjar, orders a crackdown on “bad hijab.”

This may sound naïve, even foolish, but one must entertain the thought that Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei do not about Elnaz’s tragic end. They could not, because they too are fathers, and fathers, no matter how strict, would never condone such evil–and neither does the Quran.

Please, if you can, share this news, send it to whoever is in a position to publicize it. Elnaz should not be swept under the rug.