Confirmation of Rajai-Shahr Prison Evacuation; Hediyeh Kimiai: The Government is Destroying 'Crime Evidence'

Following the confirmation of the evacuation of Rajai-Shahr Prison and the removal of prisoners from it, Hediyeh Kimiai, a journalist and analyst on Iranian issues, told Voice of America that this prison is a 'record of the crimes of the Islamic Republic' and that the government is 'destroying evidence of its crimes.' Two days after reports of the transfer of political prisoners to other prisons, including Qezel Hesar and Evin, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, confirmed the evacuation on Thursday, August 12, stating that 'preparations for the closure of Rajai-Shahr Prison are underway' and 'the prisoners of this prison are being transferred to another prison.' Hediyeh Kimiai described Rajai-Shahr Prison as a kind of 'record of the crimes of the Islamic Republic' and said, 'It is not unlikely that they will demolish that prison or change its use to erase all traces of their crimes.' She also pointed out that in Qezel Hesar, there are prisoners convicted of violent crimes related to murder and theft, and we have known for years that the Islamic Republic uses the method of placing political prisoners alongside dangerous criminals to suppress political dissent. This Iranian affairs analyst, referring to the approaching anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, emphasized that 'the Islamic Republic is already taking actions.' Kimiai recalled the uprising at Lakan Prison in Rasht during the nationwide protests in the second half of 2022, stating that the Islamic Republic wants to 'increase its pressure on political prisoners and have complete oversight over the voices coming from the prisons and suppress them.' This journalist also emphasized that the Islamic Republic 'must answer in international courts' for the 'executions of the 1980s and its crimes,' and with the closure of Rajai-Shahr Prison, 'it is destroying evidence of its crimes.' Kimiai, relying on comments from 'some experts,' added: 'This behavior of the Islamic Republic in erasing news and exposé reports of its crimes in cyberspace and search engines is also worth examining.' The judiciary's news agency announced the evacuation of Rajai-Shahr Prison based on one of the 'resolutions from the provincial visit of the head of the judiciary on April 7' of this year. Rajai-Shahr Prison, also known as 'Gohardasht Prison,' is located in Alborz Province and has been well-known due to the presence of many political, ideological, and civil prisoners throughout the life of the Islamic Republic. The execution of a large number of political prisoners in the 1980s, especially in 1987 while imprisoned in Rajai-Shahr, has linked the name of this prison with dark events such as political executions of that decade. In recent hours, images have circulated on social media showing a significant presence of special forces, rescue units, police, and 'Revolutionary Guard' forces around this prison. Arasham Rezaei, who had previously been imprisoned in Rajai-Shahr, tweeted on Tuesday about the transfer of Saman Saidi and Mohammad Borughani from Rajai-Shahr to Qezel Hesar. This civil activist announced in recent tweets that on Tuesday 'all prisoners held in Ward 10 of Rajai-Shahr Prison were transferred to Qezel Hesar' and all were 'housed in one ward.' According to him, 'this ward consists of three halls' with 'very small exercise yards' and 'each hall accommodates 160 to 170 prisoners.' The Twitter account 'Voice of Shahrivar,' which follows news related to protests in Iran, tweeted that the closure of Rajai-Shahr Prison is 'the first steps of the repressive apparatus to implement the dangerous plan of relocating prisons outside the cities.' It emphasized that 'removing the prison from the city means cutting the last ties of the prisoner with the outside world, meaning cutting off the possibility of gathering in support of prisoners who are at risk of execution or have been shot.'