Adverse Weather Conditions Prevent 10 MPs from Visiting Evin Prison

A member of the Iranian Parliament's presiding board announced that the visit of representatives to Evin Prison has been postponed due to what was described as "adverse weather conditions." Mohammad Ali Vakili stated on Sunday, January 28, in an interview with ILNA news agency that the new date for the visit has not yet been determined and will be announced soon. Ten representatives were scheduled to visit Evin Prison, where several detainees from the protests in December are held, on Sunday morning. The Jamaran news site had identified these representatives as Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, Mohammad Kazemi, Hassan Nourouzi, Mohammad Javad Fathi, Mohammad Dehghan, Mohammad Ali Vakili, Allahyar Malekshahi, Fatemeh Saidi, Valiollah Nanavakani, and Mohammad Boroumandi. ILNA and Iran newspaper also reported that Fatemeh Saidi is the only female representative among the visitors to Evin. Following reports of the deaths of several detainees from recent protests in custody, a group of parliament members requested to visit Evin Prison. News of the deaths of detainees raised alarms among some representatives about the potential for a "second Kahrizak" incident. In recent weeks, reports have emerged regarding the deaths of Vahid Heydari and Shahab Abtahi Zadeh in Arak, Sina Ghanbari in Evin, Mohsen Adeli in Dezful, Saro Ghahramani and Kianoush Zandi in Sanandaj. Meanwhile, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic claim that these individuals "committed suicide" or that their deaths were unrelated to the protests. Following the publication of these reports, Parvaneh Salahshouri, a Tehran MP, stated that the number of deaths in prisons has heightened representatives' concerns regarding the conditions of prisoners, asserting that the Prison Organization is responsible for the lives of inmates and must be held accountable. Salahshouri added in an interview with the "Jameh Now" website that "every day, new names of the deceased are released, which has greatly alarmed us, and for this reason, we are eager to visit the prisons as soon as possible." A few days after Mahmoud Sadeghi announced the sending of a signed letter from 40 representatives to the Speaker of Parliament, requesting the formation of an independent group to investigate the causes of the deaths of several detainees from the recent protests in prisons, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also announced that the Tehran prosecutor had agreed to the representatives' visit to Evin Prison. The visit to Evin is set to occur while the committee investigating the detentions of December protesters reported last week that some detainees had been "severely beaten" and that "methadone" had been distributed among them. The Prison Organization has denied the allegations of forcing detainees to consume methadone pills. "The family of Sina Ghanbari has requested an investigation into his death," Mohammad Kazemi, a reformist MP from Malayer, who is among the representatives visiting Evin, stated in an interview with Shargh newspaper published on Sunday. This MP declared that the parliamentary delegation's duty is to address this matter, adding, "The public relations office of the Tehran prosecutor's office and the public relations office of the Prison Organization must explain this matter in detail to the public." He noted, "Since I did not have access to information, I assume the reports from officials are accurate unless proven otherwise." Previously, the committee investigating the recent protests reported that Sina Ghanbari had been beaten, and his body showed signs of severe beating, along with several other detainees from the recent protests in Evin Prison. According to this committee, Sina Ghanbari's body was found on January 5, with a "garbage bag tied around his neck, on the floor of the quarantine bathroom of Evin Prison by inmates assigned to cleaning duties." In another part of his interview with Shargh, Kazemi mentioned that the goal of the ten MPs is to "meet with the recent detainees and inquire about the conduct of the guards and the behavior of the judicial authority in the detention centers." Regarding the possibility of the Judiciary Committee visiting prisons in other cities, he said, "In cities and towns, representatives have been following up on the detentions, the processing of cases, and the treatment of detainees. For example, we had detainees in Malayer and Hamadan. We were in contact with the judicial authorities and prisons there, and the follow-ups were conducted properly. However, if the Judiciary Committee deems it appropriate, we will continue these visits in other cities." Mahmoud Sadeghi, a Tehran MP, had previously announced that at least 3,700 people were arrested during the protests in various cities across Iran.