Criticism of the Large Presence of Officials During Parliamentary Visit to Evin Prison

The Vice Chairman of the Judicial Commission of the Parliament criticized the large presence of officials during the visit of lawmakers to Evin Prison on Tuesday, stating that the representatives were unable to speak privately with the prisoners. Mohammad Kazemi said on Wednesday, February 1, to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) that while the presence of officials in the prison is not unusual, 'they were in significant numbers, and it would have been better if no one accompanied us or only the head of the prison organization or the head of Evin Prison were with us.' He noted that the number of officials present during the visit exceeded that of the representatives, which is undesirable because 'it was necessary to speak privately with some prisoners.' Eleven members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly visited Evin Prison's Ward 4 and Section 209 to assess the conditions of detainees from the protests in December. According to the statements of the parliament members, only six of the detainees from the recent protests were present in the prison during their visit, and the representatives managed to meet with four of them. Kazemi stated, 'Currently, four of the detainees from the recent events are in the general prison ward, and two are in a section where their interrogations have not yet been conducted, totaling six detainees from the recent events in Evin Prison.' He also referred to the case of Sina Ghanbari, a 23-year-old who was arrested during the recent protests in Tehran and later, officials announced that he had 'committed suicide' in prison. Kazemi requested that the investigator examine the case more carefully, noting that while the explanations indicated suicide, the matter involves the rights of others, especially since this individual was very young, and they hope it will be investigated thoroughly. This case is currently being handled by one of the branches of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. On Wednesday, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) also reported the statements of Asghar Jahangir, the head of the prison organization, regarding the parliamentary visit to Evin Prison, which included references to the Sina Ghanbari case. He stated that the parliament members present at Evin visited the site of Ghanbari's 'suicide' and also 'watched the video related to the suicide, showing how he entered the bathroom late at night and used a garbage bag to create a noose and hang himself.' Jahangir added, 'After meeting with the detainees from the recent unrest, the representatives also visited two other quarantine wards and Section 209, where they spoke with the recent detainees about various issues and listened to their opinions.' During the recent nationwide protests, at least 3,700 people were arrested, with Iranian officials claiming that many of them have been released.