Exclusive | 'Insider Prisoners and Children of Officials' Enjoy Better Benefits Compared to Other Prisoners

Following the publication of an exclusive report on the conditions of prisoners in Evin prison, more information has reached the Persian section of Voice of America; information indicating that 'insider prisoners and children of officials' enjoy significantly better benefits than other prisoners. A former political prisoner mentioned to Voice of America two 'insider prisoners' named Ammar Salehi and Mohsen Jafari, who, according to the sentences issued in the Capital Bank case (or as the Islamic Republic's judiciary calls it, the Jahani Bani group case), should have been imprisoned in Evin. He stated: 'Mohsen Jafari, the son of Aziz Jafari (Mohammad Ali Jafari, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), never saw the general ward and after a few days in Ward 2-A or Ward 209 of Evin, continued his sentence at home.' According to this former political prisoner, Ammar Salehi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Esfand 1398, 'was imprisoned for a total of 3 years, which was only on paper' because, as he said, 'he spent more than two and a half years of his sentence with his family.' Ammar Salehi, the son of Ataollah Salehi, former commander of the Islamic Republic Army, was accused in the Capital Bank case of participating in the illegal receipt of 110 billion tomans in loans from the Capital Bank. Additionally, see: Exclusive | Discrimination between 'insiders and outsiders' in Evin; government-affiliated prisoners have 'special facilities.' The publication of scattered news about the defendants in the Capital Bank case in several media outlets and also on social media led to questions for Massoud Setayesh, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's judiciary, on February 14. He responded: 'The judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not tolerate any leniency towards convicted and accused economic offenders and will decisively deal with such cases.' This is while, according to several critics and media in Iran, many corruption cases in Iran do not reach a conclusion. Before Massoud Setayesh, according to the state news agency IRNA, Zabihullah Khodayian, the then spokesperson for the judiciary, stated in Ordibehesht 1401 about the latest status of the Capital Bank case: 'Multiple cases have been formed regarding the Capital Bank, and some cases have resulted in definitive sentences.' He added: 'Recently, sentences have been issued in this case, resulting in individuals being sentenced to over 170 years in prison.' Zabihullah Khodayian mentioned the names: 'Mohammad Imami was sentenced to 20 years in prison for major disruption in the economic system through obtaining illegal funds, restitution of property, and dismissal from public service; Ahmad Hashemi-Shahrudi received a 10-year sentence, restitution of property, and Shahabuddin Ghondali was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison.' He added: 'Another accomplice was also sentenced to 20 years in prison and restitution of property, but since it was a default judgment, I will not mention that person's name.' Ahmad Hashemi-Shahrudi, who received a 10-year prison sentence and restitution of property, is the nephew and son-in-law of Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahrudi, the former head of the judiciary and former head of the Expediency Discernment Council of the Islamic Republic. In this regard, the newspaper 'Ham Mihan' reported on Mordad 2 last year that in the context of the Capital Bank case, the name 'Bagher Hashemi-Shahrudi,' the son of 'Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahrudi,' was also mentioned as the intermediary who introduced Ahmad Hashemi-Shahrudi to Mohammad Imami. Mohammad Hadi-Razavi, another defendant in the Capital Bank case, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, restitution of property, 74 lashes, and deprivation of public service, was delivered to Evin prison on Mordad 14, 1398, to serve his sentence. However, he was released on October 8, 1400. According to reports received by Voice of America, Mohammad Hadi-Razavi, another defendant in the Capital Bank case, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, restitution of property, 74 lashes, and deprivation of public service, was delivered to Evin prison on Mordad 14, 1398, to serve his sentence. However, he was released on October 8, 1400. It is unclear what happened to the remaining 18 years of his sentence or whether he endured the lashes and other sentences. Regarding the conditions of 'insider prisoners' and reports received by Voice of America, other prisoners have also benefited from the privilege of being 'insiders,' such as Mahmoud Saif. Another former prisoner told Voice of America: 'I think Saif spent less than two years of his long sentence in prison, of which more than 20 months were spent outside of prison.' This prisoner referred to Mohsen Sajadiania, or Mahmoud Saif, the economic deputy of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for economic disruption in 1399. The judiciary's generosity in granting long-term leaves to insider prisoners is in stark contrast to its strictness in granting leaves for medical treatments or recovery periods to political and ideological prisoners. In this regard, one can mention prisoners such as Nahid Taghavi, Reza Shahabi, Davood Razavi, Hassan Saidi, Fatemeh Sepahri, Arash Jouhari, Keyvan Mohtadi, Rasoul Badaghi, Mehran Raouf, Maziar Seyednejad, Jafar Ebrahimi, and others. Such a trend has also existed in previous years. According to reports received by Voice of America, another 'insider prisoner' is Parviz Kazemi, the Minister of Welfare and Social Security during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison but was released after serving nearly 5 years. According to these reports, Parviz Kazemi spent those 5 years in such a way that more than three years were on leave, and the remaining two years he only came to Evin at night to sleep, and on holidays, he stayed at home, later being pardoned. Meanwhile, reports indicate that several other defendants in economic cases have also benefited from the privilege of being 'insiders.' In this regard, the Ham Mihan newspaper mentioned on Mordad 2 last year that the children of some other officials have also been convicted in economic cases; such as 'Mohammad Darinajafabadi,' the son of 'Ghorbanali Darinajafabadi,' the first Attorney General of the Islamic Republic, who was the 30th defendant in the Shahram Jazayeri case; or 'Mahdi Moqaddai,' the son of 'Morteza Moqaddai,' the former Attorney General, who was the 28th defendant in the same case. Mahdi Moqaddai was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, restitution of property, and Mohammad Darinajafabadi was sentenced to one year in prison. Ultimately, however, no report was published about their imprisonment.