Increase in Prisoner Suicide Rates; 800 Inmates Demand Removal of Urmia Central Prison Chief

More than 800 inmates at Urmia Central Prison have demanded the removal of the prison chief, Peyman Khan-Zadeh, in an open letter citing an increase in prisoner suicides due to what they described as "harassment" at the facility. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported on Thursday, February 22, that the letter begins with the statement: "The prison chief, Peyman Khan-Zadeh, not only creates problems for the inmates but has also involved their families in issues in some cases." According to this human rights network, the suicide of a condemned prisoner named Amir Shahbazi was a result of pressures from the prison chief and officials at Urmia Central Prison. The letter emphasized that Amir Shahbazi, despite having obtained the consent of all his complainants and being close to his release, ended his life by suicide weeks ago, citing the prison chief and the dormitory supervisor as the reasons for his act. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network noted that despite a worrying increase in suicide cases due to restrictions and harassment from the prison chief in recent weeks, officials of the General Directorate of Prisons in West Azerbaijan Province have yet to pay attention to the numerous requests from inmates. In January of this year, human rights organizations reported that a prisoner accused of theft committed suicide by taking pills in Urmia Prison and died. The news agency "Hana" reported at that time that Amir Shahbazi had been in Urmia Prison for four years and ended his life in protest against the violent behavior of prison guards who intended to transfer him to solitary confinement. The U.S. Treasury Department announced in November 2020 that Urmia Prison, along with Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, had been sanctioned by Washington. Mistreatment of prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons has consistently drawn severe criticism from activists and human rights organizations both in Iran and globally.