Political prisoner in danger of torture and being physically eliminated
According to reports from the Dastgerd Central Prison in Isfahan, political prisoner Mohammad Nikbakht has been transferred to an unknown location for more than three months now and there has been no news on his condition and whereabouts since then.
He was summoned by the head of the prison's Protection and Intelligence Department on June 20 and transferred to an unknown location. He has been reportedly taken to solitary cells in the RGC Intelligence Detention Center. He is in danger of torture and being physically eliminated.
His family has approached the Isfahan Central Prison, Revolutionary Court, intelligence agency and RGC Intelligence Department in this city several times but they still have not received any answers on the condition of their son. His family has also been threatened and abused by these institutions. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Sep. 27, 2009)
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Iranian Protester Flees After Telling of Torture
When he eagerly joined the mass street protests that followed Iran’s tainted June 12 presidential elections, Ibrahim Sharifi, 24, hoped only to add his voice to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanding that the government nullify the results. He never imagined that he would eventually have a far greater impact, as the only person willing to speak publicly about the brutal treatment he was subjected to in prison, including rape and torture...
Human rights groups say that Mr. Sharifi’s account conforms closely to those of other abuse victims. Omid Memarian, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, said he had confirmed the credibility of Mr. Sharifi’s story with people close to Mr. Karroubi...
He was on his way back home the afternoon of June 22 when he was grabbed by two men. “I had taken part in every single protest, so I saw this coming,” he said.
He said he was handcuffed, blindfolded and, as he later learned, taken to the notorious Kahrizak detention center in southwestern Tehran, where even the government concedes that several detainees were killed.
He said he remained handcuffed and blindfolded for four days in a cramped cell with about 30 other prisoners.
They were beaten senseless the first day, he said, and periodically after that over the next four days. Urine and blood covered the floor.
By the fourth day he was beginning to lose hope of getting out alive. He had trouble closing his mouth and he said he began vomiting blood.
“I told the guard that he should go ahead and just kill me if he wanted to,” he said, breaking into tears. “Then he called another guard and said ‘Take this bastard and impregnate him.’ ”
They took him out of the cell to another room where they pushed him against a wall that had handcuffs and two metal hooks to keep his legs open. The guard pulled down his underwear, he said, and began raping him.
“He laughed mockingly as he was doing it and said that I could not even defend myself so how did I think that I could stage a revolution.
“They wanted to horrify and intimidate me,” he said, weeping.
At that point, Mr. Sharifi said, he passed out. The next thing he remembered was opening his eyes and realizing he was in a hospital with one hand cuffed to his bed. Another young man was screaming hysterically on a bed next to him.
He said he heard a doctor tell someone, “Dump him or you’ll have the same problem as the other ones,” meaning that he would die in custody. Two days later, he said, they put him in a car, took him to a highway in Tehran and left him there, blindfolded.
He immediately went to a psychiatrist who put him on a heavy dose of anxiety medication. Then he went to a police station to file a complaint, but the officers advised him to be thankful that he was alive and to try to forget about it. (The New York Times - Sep. 27, 2009)
Quds Day detainees thrown in sacks and beaten
According to reports from detainees arrested on the demonstrations on Quds Day (Sep. 18), a large number of detainees were taken to mosques and Bassij bases and beaten. They were placed in sacks and severely beaten by Bassij forces. These reports say that hundreds of people were arrested by security forces in the Quds Day protests but these arrests were made in isolated locations and alleys. (Iran News Agency – Sep. 29, 2009)
Political prisoner has been kept in excruciating conditions for 6 months
According to reports from ward 1 of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, political prisoner Behrouz Javid-Tehrani has been in this ward for close to six months under torture and under excruciating conditions.
Tehrani has recently been taken to the Hosseineih Section in its solitary cells. The Hosseineih is used for prisoners who have severe mental problems. These prisoners are kept here instead of being taken to psychiatric clinics. Political prisoners have no security in this section. Tehrani has been tortured on several occasions by those who killed Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. He was recently tortured again and the signs of torture and bruises are still evident on his body.
The Hosseineih has a number of large cells with very filthy carpets, a short ceilings and small windows which have been completely covered and natural light does not shine into the cells. The prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor and only have two blankets. This is while the prisoners are not able to sleep in the freezing winter temperatures. The blankets are also very filthy and smell very bad which prevents the prisoners from resting. The prison food is very scarce. Prisoners are given one fourth of bread daily along with potatoes. They are only given enough to keep them from dying. Prisoners who are mentally ill usually get into physical fights over food. (Human Rights Activists in Iran – Sep. 30, 2009)
Protester beaten and injured in prison
Kobra Zagheh-Dust and her husband Ashkan Eskandari were arrested by intelligence agents in a ceremony to mark the 40th day of those killed in the (post-election) protests in the Behesht Zahra Cemetery. Two months after their arrest, they are still in ward 209 in Evin Prison and kept in an undetermined state.
According to reports, Ashkan Eskandari started chanting slogans against Ahmadinejad when he was brought to ward 209 after his arrest and was violently beaten for this reason by agents and guards in the detention center. He has been detained in solitary since his arrest and despite his poor psychological and physical state, he is not transferred to the general wards. He was also beaten by interrogators and ward guards on several occasions to the extent that he was taken to the Taleqani Hospital for treatment yesterday due to his severe injuries.
Eskandari constantly shouts and cries demanding that he be taken to the general wards, but so far his wife's and his constant requests have been left unheeded.
The number of detainees in Tehran (is so large) that security wards in Evin Prison including wards 209, 240 and 2A do not have any more space for prisoners. (Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Oct. 2, 2009)
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Quds Day detainees thrown in sacks and beaten
According to reports from detainees arrested on the demonstrations on Quds Day (Sep. 18), a large number of detainees were taken to mosques and Bassij bases and beaten. They were placed in sacks and severely beaten by Bassij forces. These reports say that hundreds of people were arrested by security forces in the Quds Day protests but these arrests were made in isolated locations and alleys. (– Sep. 29, 2009)
Political prisoner has been kept in excruciating conditions for 6 months
According to reports from ward 1 of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, political prisoner Behrouz Javid-Tehrani has been in this ward for close to six months under torture and under excruciating conditions.
Tehrani has recently been taken to the Hosseineih Section in its solitary cells. The Hosseineih is used for prisoners who have severe mental problems. These prisoners are kept here instead of being taken to psychiatric clinics. Political prisoners have no security in this section. Tehrani has been tortured on several occasions by those who killed Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. He was recently tortured again and the signs of torture and bruises are still evident on his body.
The Hosseineih has a number of large cells with very filthy carpets, a short ceilings and small windows which have been completely covered and natural light does not shine into the cells. The prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor and only have two blankets. This is while the prisoners are not able to sleep in the freezing winter temperatures. The blankets are also very filthy and smell very bad which prevents the prisoners from resting. The prison food is very scarce. Prisoners are given one fourth of bread daily along with potatoes. They are only given enough to keep them from dying. Prisoners who are mentally ill usually get into physical fights over food. (Human Rights Activists in Iran – Sep. 30, 2009)
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Protester beaten and injured in prison
Kobra Zagheh-Dust and her husband Ashkan Eskandari were arrested by intelligence agents in a ceremony to mark the 40th day of those killed in the (post-election) protests in the Behesht Zahra Cemetery. Two months after their arrest, they are still in ward 209 in Evin Prison and kept in an undetermined state.
According to reports, Ashkan Eskandari started chanting slogans against Ahmadinejad when he was brought to ward 209 after his arrest and was violently beaten for this reason by agents and guards in the detention center. He has been detained in solitary since his arrest and despite his poor psychological and physical state, he is not transferred to the general wards. He was also beaten by interrogators and ward guards on several occasions to the extent that he was taken to the Taleqani Hospital for treatment yesterday due to his severe injuries.
Eskandari constantly shouts and cries demanding that he be taken to the general wards, but so far his wife's and his constant requests have been left unheeded.
The number of detainees in Tehran (is so large) that security wards in Evin Prison including wards 209, 240 and 2A do not have any more space for prisoners. (Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Oct. 2, 2009)
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