Amnesty International Calls for Immediate Investigation into 'Suicide' Cases in Iranian Prisons

Following reports of several 'suicides' in Iranian prisons amid recent nationwide protests, Amnesty International on Tuesday, January 9, issued a statement calling for 'immediate investigations' into these incidents. One day after the confirmation of the death of Sina Qanbari, a participant in the recent protests in Iran, the Iran Human Rights Campaign reported on Tuesday the death of 'Vahid Heydari in Arak detention center.' The same organization tweeted on Monday night that in addition to these two individuals, another person named Mohsen Adeli had 'committed suicide' in Dezful prison. On the other hand, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer, reported in an interview with Radio Farda that according to her sources, there were 'three deaths' in the quarantine section of Evin prison, which officials have declared as 'suicides.' In its statement, Amnesty International specifically referred to these cases and called on Iranian authorities to take 'all necessary measures' to protect the lives of detainees. The statement described the 'lack of transparency' regarding 'what has happened to these detainees' as concerning. Earlier, four independent experts from the UN Human Rights Council had described the Iranian government's handling of protesters as 'concerning,' noting that over 20 people had been killed during the nationwide protests in Iran. Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, also urged Iranian authorities to 'immediately conduct transparent, impartial, and independent investigations' into these matters. The organization also called for the 'suspension' of all individuals responsible for the deaths of prisoners in prisons following the recent protests. Previously, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament from Tehran, tweeted on Tuesday confirming the death of Sina Qanbari, one of the detainees from the recent protests in Evin prison, warning of a potential repeat of 'Kahrizak 2.' Mohsen Rouholamini and many other protesters against the 2009 presidential election results were transferred to Kahrizak detention center, which reportedly had very poor conditions. According to official reports from the Iranian government, at least two other individuals named Amir Javadi-Far and Mohammad Kamrani were killed in this detention center besides Mohsen Rouholamini. Earlier in December, the lawyer for Mohsen Rouholamini's family reported that Saeed Mortazavi, the then Tehran prosecutor, was sentenced to two years in prison for complicity in the murder that occurred in this detention center. During the recent protests in Iran, which lasted for more than a week, at least 22 people lost their lives, and over a thousand were detained in several cities across Iran.