Confirmation of the Death of a Detainee in Evin; Sadighi Warns of a 'Second Kahrizak'

Mahmoud Sadighi, a member of parliament, confirmed the death of Sina Ghanbari, one of the detainees from the recent protests in Evin prison, warning of the potential for a repeat of what he termed a 'Second Kahrizak.' Meanwhile, a judicial official announced that the cause of Ghanbari's death was 'suicide.' According to ISNA news agency, the director of Tehran's prisons stated that Ghanbari 'committed suicide by hanging himself in the prison's quarantine restroom.' Mostafa Mohibi announced on Tuesday, January 8, that the suicide occurred 'early on Saturday, January 6,' adding that 'the prosecutor was immediately informed, and a criminal investigator arrived at the prison to investigate the prison staff and witnesses and issued the necessary orders regarding this matter.' This judicial official did not provide details about the reasons for Ghanbari's imprisonment. Earlier, Mahmoud Sadighi tweeted on Tuesday confirming Ghanbari's death and warned of the potential for a 'Second Kahrizak.' He wrote: 'In a call with an official from one of the intelligence agencies, I unfortunately confirmed the death of one of the detainees from the recent unrest in Evin prison; I warn the President and security and judicial officials to prevent a second Kahrizak.' Previously, the Committee for Monitoring the Arrests of December 2017 reported on Sunday, January 7, that Sina Ghanbari had died in Evin prison. The committee added that Ghanbari, a 23-year-old from Tehran, had been in quarantine at Evin prison for a few days and 'died for unknown reasons.' The committee stated that the source of this news was several released detainees. In this context, Tayebe Siawoshi, a member of parliament from Tehran, confirmed Ghanbari's death to ILNA news agency on Tuesday, stating that after following up with relevant authorities, she was informed that the cause was suicide. She added: 'I followed up with the Ministry of Intelligence and the police, which stated that this 22-year-old diploma holder was arrested by the police and handed over to the judiciary.' According to Ms. Siawoshi, based on the information she received, 'this individual committed suicide in prison.' This parliament member reported the issue to Ali Larijani's office, the Speaker of Parliament, adding: 'In recent days, in multiple follow-ups with the judiciary, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the police, we have requested that there be complete and precise oversight over the youth detained in these unrests, and if these individuals had no role in property destruction, they should be released.' When asked by ILNA whether Tehran representatives had requested to meet with the detainees, she responded: 'Yesterday (Sunday), along with some parliament members, such as Ms. Salheshouri and Mr. Mousavi, we held a meeting with representatives of the detained students. We are still following up on these matters, but so far, as far as I know, no requests for meetings have been made.' Additionally, Mahmoud Sadighi, prior to his tweet on this matter, stated in an interview with 'Etemad Online' that 'according to information I received from one of the intelligence agencies, this individual was arrested by the police and, as they said, committed suicide in Evin prison.' Sadighi emphasized that he had no information on whether this person had participated in protests, adding: 'I have no knowledge of whether he was present at the protests or not and added: 'He was not a student and had a diploma.' This parliament member noted: 'The matter is under investigation, and according to the rules, other potential factors are also being investigated.' He did not mention these potential factors. Mahmoud Sadighi pointed out that he was unaware of the details of this matter, adding: 'They should logically investigate. The parliament should address this issue, and families and students are contacting us. However, the parliament is on recess, and we are following this matter individually. But the entry into the issue should be formal and addressed through the parliament.' He also stated that this case pertains to the Security and Judicial Commission. Previously, Nahid Khodakarami, a member of the Tehran City Council, expressed concern on Sunday about the recurrence of incidents like Kahrizak detention center. According to ISNA news agency, Ms. Khodakarami, in her pre-speech remarks, referred to the detention of 'a large number of Tehran citizens, including students,' stating that 'people, with the bitter memory of Kahrizak and the fate of the Rouh-al-Amini case, are very worried.' She added: 'They are concerned that another judge, another rogue force, or a cellmate might make a mistake, and God forbid, an irreversible incident might occur.' Previously, Ali-Asghar Nasirbakht, the deputy governor of Tehran, on January 2, in response to a question about preventing a recurrence of the Kahrizak incident in 2009, stated that judicial officials 'have certainly thought about this and have devised measures and arrangements 'to prevent unpleasant incidents of past years.' However, he did not mention the nature of these measures and conditions. According to official Iranian government reports, during the protests against the results of the 2009 elections, several detainees named Mohsen Rouh-al-Amini, Amir Javadi-Far, Mohammad Kamrani, and Ramin Aghazadeh Qahremani were killed in Kahrizak detention center due to torture. Additionally, over the past decades, several other political and ideological prisoners have lost their lives in Iranian prisons, including Zahra Kazemi, Omidreza Mir-Siyafi, Hoda Saber, Sattar Beheshti, Afshin Asanlu, and Shahrokh Zamani. In her speech, Nahid Khodakarami also requested that responsible institutions report how many protesters have been detained in recent days. She also asked the head of the Tehran City Council to 'seriously follow up on the fate of the detainees from recent events and to facilitate the presence of the families of the detainees in the Islamic City Council of Tehran.' According to official statistics, at least 1,800 individuals have been detained during the recent protests.