Concerns Among Representatives About the Number of Deaths; 'The Prison Organization is Responsible for the Lives of Prisoners'

Parvaneh Salahshouri, a representative from Tehran, announced that the increasing number of deaths in prisons has heightened the representatives' concerns regarding the conditions of prisoners, stating that the Prison Organization is responsible for the lives of prisoners and must be held accountable. In an interview with the 'Jameh Now' website, she added, 'Every day, new names of the deceased are published, and this issue has severely worried us, which is why we are pursuing a visit to the prisons as soon as possible.' She noted that the Deputy Minister of Intelligence and the Speaker of Parliament have promised that the representatives will be allowed to visit the prisons soon, emphasizing, 'Whether the arrests are political or non-political, the Prison Organization is responsible for the lives of prisoners and must be accountable.' When asked whether the representatives have accurate statistics on the number of deaths and their causes, she replied, 'Unfortunately, we do not have statistics, but if other colleagues have information, at least I am not aware of it. However, representatives have stated that they will investigate the cases of all the deceased, from Sina Ghanbari to others, including Saro Ghahramani, to determine the real cause of their deaths.' While some human rights sources report the deaths of three to five detainees in detention centers, official authorities have only acknowledged the 'suicide' of two individuals during this period, claiming they were not detained in connection with the recent protests. Salahshouri also responded to the question of how hopeful the representatives are that the judiciary will allow them to visit the prisons, saying, 'We are members of parliament, and given our request, it is the duty of the judiciary to cooperate with us, especially since the increasing number of deaths has heightened concerns about the conditions of prisoners.' Following reports of the deaths of several detainees from the recent protests in detention centers, which were accompanied by warnings from representatives about the potential for a repeat of 'Kahrizak II,' a group of parliament members requested to visit Evin Prison. Earlier, Mahmoud Sadeghi, head of the Transparency Faction in Parliament, stated on Sunday, January 24, in an interview with Etemad Online, 'Many families do not accept the claims made by some judicial officials regarding the suicides of detainees and assert that the cause of death was not suicide, and I do not judge; this matter must be investigated.' Sadeghi mentioned the statistics of individuals who, according to Islamic Republic officials, committed suicide while in custody, stating, 'Two are confirmed; Mr. Sina Ghanbari in Tehran and Mr. Vahid Heydari in Arak. Recently, reports have come from Kurdistan and Sanandaj that two or three people died in custody. However, these reports are unconfirmed.' Meanwhile, according to the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, Ali Akbar Groosi, the head of the judiciary in Kurdistan province, denied the news of the deaths of two individuals in the 'recent unrest in Sanandaj,' stating, 'The news reported by some hostile media about the deaths of two individuals in the recent unrest is completely false, and these two individuals had no connection to the recent unrest.' This judicial official, without mentioning the names of these two individuals, added that they 'were killed in clashes with security forces.' In this context, Etemad Online reported that Mahmoud Sadeghi also mentioned that the request from the Reformist Faction of Parliament, known as the 'Hope Faction,' to visit Evin Prison was not approved. On Sunday, Sadeghi reported that more than 40 members of the legislative body had sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, requesting the formation of an independent group to investigate the causes of death of several detainees from the recent protests in prisons. Simultaneously with Sadeghi's statements, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker, and Mohammad Kazemi, Deputy Head of the Judiciary Commission, reported the ineffectiveness of the representatives' request to visit Evin Prison. In this context, Motahari told the House of Representatives news agency that the parliamentary board is considering forming a 'fact-finding committee' to visit detention centers. Sadeghi had previously announced that the number of detainees from the protests in Iranian cities was 3,700. Concerns about the situation of Leila Hosseinzadeh, a detained student. A relative of Leila Hosseinzadeh, an anthropology student at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tehran University, in an interview with Radio Farda, referred to her arrest at her home on January 1, and the family's lack of information about her status, adding, 'According to the latest follow-ups, Ms. Hosseinzadeh is not in Evin Prison.' He added that Leila Hosseinzadeh's arrest was not carried out by 'the Ministry of Intelligence, and her detention and custody file is in the hands of another institution.' He, who wished to remain anonymous, referred to what he called 'the publication of contradictory official news about the timing of the release of other detained students,' stating that despite the release of some students, 'no information about the status and release of Leila has reached her family, friends, and classmates.' This individual close to Ms. Hosseinzadeh's family considered the current situation a result of 'the lack of serious and effective follow-up by Tehran University and the relevant authorities and the abandonment of this student's file to security forces' and added that Ms. Hosseinzadeh's family is asking the university administration to be the most serious entity following up on this detained student and to provide her with the opportunity to have a lawyer by delivering a power of attorney to Leila Hosseinzadeh. Previously, Mansour Gholami, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, stated on Sunday to Mehr news agency, 'The process of releasing students continues, and some students have not yet been released.' He stated that he has no statistics on the release of students and said, 'A lot of effort has been made by our colleagues in universities and the Ministry of Science, which has led to the quicker release of more students.'