Exclusive | Discrimination Between 'Insiders and Outsiders' in Evin; Government-Linked Prisoners Have 'Special Facilities'

The results of recent investigations by the Persian section of Voice of America regarding the conditions of ordinary and political prisoners indicate that while the majority of them are deprived of many of their legal rights, prisoners linked to major financial cases enjoy welfare facilities and long-term daily leave. Several released prisoners have told Voice of America that conditions in prison, especially for 'insiders of the Islamic Republic,' are very good. For example, they mentioned: 'Hasan Rayat leaves Evin prison every day at seven in the morning in a Zantia car waiting for him and returns to prison for sleep between 10 or 11 at night.' Hasan Rayat is another name for Hasan Mir Kazemi, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for embezzlement and theft of public property. His name was mentioned during the crackdown on protests against the results of the 2009 elections, when a photo of him with a handgun riding a motorcycle was published. Previously, Ahmadreza Haeri, a political prisoner, criticized discrimination against prisoners in a letter to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. In this letter, published on the website of HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, it was stated that 'ordered' prisoners, who are mostly economic offenders, enjoy 'special and specific facilities.' This is while Haeri himself, when writing the letter, was deprived of contact with his wife and young daughter and, as he wrote in his letter, was subjected to mental harassment for this reason. Neda Mihan Doost, the sister of Navid (Reza) Mihan Doost, a writer and director imprisoned in Evin, wrote in a note published in HRANA in December of this year, quoting her brother: 'The most luxurious section of Evin is section 4, which usually houses wealthy financial prisoners and also more famous political prisoners. The rooms here are generally spacious and somewhat airy and are equipped with a television and a private phone.' The note stated: 'In this section, most rooms have tables and chairs so that the respected prisoners can enjoy their daily meals on them. Moreover, there is no news of the humiliating quarantine space for daily statistics, and the favored prisoners in this section do not even see the need to get out of bed for morning counts and are counted while still lying in bed. The cultural section of this section is also very large and spacious. Even the library here is equipped with several movie and music playback devices, headphones, and monitors so that the luxurious prisoners in this section can spend their imprisonment as comfortably as possible.' According to Voice of America’s investigation, many prisoners are in small rooms, which creates many problems for them. One released prisoner told Voice of America that imprisoned workers are in a room with 26 people. He added that individuals linked to the Noor Institute case 'rule here, and the prison guards respect them and let them leave without clothes.' The court handling the 1650 billion tomans money laundering case related to the Noor Institute began in March 2023 in the special court for cases known as disruptors of the economic system in Golestan province. However, so far, the media has not published any news regarding the verdicts of the defendants. According to this released prisoner, 'the rooms of financially powerful prisoners, such as those accused and convicted in the Noor Institute, Bank Saman, and Razi Insurance cases, contain between 7 to 10 people and enjoy all facilities.' Meanwhile, according to investigations by the Persian section of Voice of America, in section four of Evin prison, which has four halls, about 600 prisoners are housed, with some cases having between 20 to 35 people forced to stay in a 24-square-meter room; in hall one, most of the prisoners are accused of espionage, with 100 people, in hall two about 150 people, in hall three over 180 people, and in hall four about 190 people. Another released prisoner told Voice of America that the situation for prisoners in hall one is not good at all and they have worse conditions compared to many other prisoners. He added: 'Conditions in hall three for first-class prisoners, meaning wealthy financial prisoners, are different, but right below them, the situation is different.' This former prisoner pointed out: 'Room one belongs to reformists, room three to political prisoners, room four to workers and teachers, and room five to members of the imprisoned Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization.' According to him, rooms two and six are allocated to those financial prisoners who, unlike first-class prisoners, do not have good financial conditions. This former prisoner added: 'First-class prisoners have all kinds of facilities. Financial prisoners can bring whatever they want into the prison; china dishes, tea makers, coffee makers, tables and chairs, dried fruits, and vegetables. But the lower floor has nothing and even the restrooms are dirty and lack hand soap.' Hamid Mahmoudi, the head of section four, who shot at prisoners during last year's protests, has a good relationship with financial prisoners, takes bribes from them, and provides them with whatever they want, but is very harsh with others and exiles them. According to this report, the worst conditions are for political prisoners and financial prisoners related to dowries and article 3 (guarantee or fraud). For example, in each of the rooms in halls one and three, with an area of 12 square meters, there are 6 people. In rooms four and five, there are 17 and 20 prisoners, respectively, and whatever they request is met with opposition from the guards. Another former prisoner told Voice of America that 'financial prisoners without financial means are employed there; for a weekly payment of 400,000 tomans.' He emphasized that most financial prisoners are facing economic problems, adding: 'Believe me, many prisoners have nothing, and their families, with great difficulty, deposit 100,000 or 200,000 tomans weekly.' This former prisoner noted that 'many are thinking of suicide.' A former political prisoner also told Voice of America that according to the law, the prison guard must provide hygiene, food, clothing, medical treatment, and even barber services free of charge to prisoners, but these facilities in Evin prison have become a source of income for the 'Supporting Institute's Cooperative Foundation.' He added: 'This foundation, which was supposedly established to support prisoners and receives donations from benefactors, not only does not help prisoners but also takes advantage of them.' This prisoner mentioned several cases in this regard, including that the goods in the store are 30% more expensive and of lower quality than outside, while the prison food is of poor quality and prisoners do not eat it. According to him, the Supporting Institute exploits this situation as an opportunity to sell low-quality goods at several times the price to prisoners with the foundation's stamp. But this is not the whole story. According to this former political prisoner, the prison guard delivers the monthly ration of prisoners every two months, and even then, incompletely, meaning that they receive soap and toothbrushes but not toothpaste, razors, shampoo, and cleaning supplies. Thus, they are forced to buy from the Supporting Institute. A former prisoner in Evin pointed out that prisoners are forced to buy necessary goods at higher prices from the store, emphasizing that red meat is completely eliminated, and prisoners who wish to use it must buy it at a higher price than in stores. The same situation exists for cigarette sales. Bahman and Winston cigarettes are sold at prices higher than the label. The sanitary conditions in Evin prison, according to released prisoners, are extremely harmful to health. Previously, the HRANA website reported on March 5 that the sanitary conditions and the treatment of prisoners in hall 8 of Evin prison are worrying, stating that overcrowding and the spread of pests such as bedbugs have endangered the health and hygiene of prisoners. According to HRANA, this issue has so far been ignored by prison officials despite numerous requests from prisoners. According to this report, about 600 prisoners are held in unsanitary conditions in this hall. HRANA wrote that this unprecedented overcrowding, which is more than twice the usual capacity, not only increases the risk of prisoners contracting various diseases but has also led to a widespread outbreak of bedbugs in the prison environment. Findings from Voice of America indicate that a similar situation exists in other sections, such as section 4. Meanwhile, another former Evin prisoner told Voice of America that the prison barber shop has been rented out for one million tomans a day, half of which goes to the institute. He added that the cost of work in the barber shop is such that they charge 120,000 tomans for a haircut and beard trim, which also poses problems for prisoners who do not have much financial power. The conditions of prisoners are not only dire in terms of hygiene and welfare. A political prisoner also told Voice of America: 'Hamid Mahmoudi, the head of section 4, who shot at prisoners during last year's protests, has a good relationship with financial prisoners, takes bribes from them, and provides them with whatever they want, but is very harsh with others and exiles them.' He added that 'Hamid Mahmoudi curses the prisoners and reports on protesting political prisoners to the Ministry of Intelligence.' Previously, a political prisoner had written in a report from section four of Evin prison published in July of this year: 'The Islamic Republic has intensified pressure on political prisoners.' He mentioned the name of the head of section 4 of Evin prison, adding: 'Hamid Mahmoudi, known as Colonel Mahmoudi, who became notorious for his suppression and cursing of prisoners during the uprising of Evin prisoners in October 2022, has beaten many prisoners and is busy fabricating cases against them.' According to this political prisoner, Hamid Mahmoudi has threatened political prisoners that 'he will use every tool for control' and will 'fabricate new cases' against them; in addition, the arbitrary suspension of prisoners' face-to-face visits, the intensification of the security atmosphere in prison, and the establishment of a network of informants among prisoners are other actions that have intensified during his tenure.