Latest Details on the Escape of Three Teenage Suspects from the Rehabilitation Center in Zahedan

According to judicial officials in Sistan and Baluchestan province, three teenage suspects who were being held at the Zahedan rehabilitation center escaped from the facility on the evening of Friday, December 3. Efforts to apprehend them are ongoing. While initial reports indicated that all three escapees were sentenced to death, on Saturday evening, December 4, two judicial officials from Sistan and Baluchestan told news agencies Mizan and Tasnim that these individuals were only 'under suspicion' and had 'no convictions.' The Fars news agency, in its initial report, based on 'investigations by its judicial reporter,' stated that two of these individuals were accused of murder and the third was accused of drug trafficking. In this context, the public prosecutor of Zahedan, in an interview with Tasnim, identified these individuals as 'under-18 beneficiaries of the rehabilitation center' and added that 'two of them are accused of intentional murder and one is accused of carrying and possessing 700 grams of drugs, and no conviction has yet been issued for them; they are currently under suspicion.' Similar statements were made by the director general of prisons in Sistan and Baluchestan in an interview with Mizan news agency, stating that these three teenagers 'have no convictions, are under suspicion, and no ruling has been issued regarding them.' He also added that 'with the help of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the hiding place of these fugitives is being identified, and actions will be taken to apprehend them and return them to the center as soon as possible.' During the escape, the initial report from Fars news agency stated that the 'three fugitive suspects' injured a soldier with 'a sharp object,' and the soldier's condition was reported as critical. In this regard, the head of the judiciary in Sistan and Baluchestan, in an interview with Tasnim, limited his comments to stating that 'I cannot make any statements at the moment and we are reviewing the details.' However, Tasnim later reported, citing the public prosecutor of Zahedan, that 'the soldier, who was injured by a sharp object, underwent surgery and, given his relative recovery, has now been discharged from the hospital.' According to local sources, the Zahedan rehabilitation center was established in February 2013 as part of a memorandum of understanding between the General Directorate of Prisons and the Red Crescent of Sistan and Baluchestan. However, it is currently unclear how many teenagers are being held at this center. A social research study conducted in April of this year among children and adolescents held in this center shows that financial problems are the main cause of delinquency among children and adolescents in this southeastern province of Iran. Zahedan province is one of the most deprived provinces in Iran, and according to the Minister of Interior, '250,000 residents live with facilities, conditions, and standards from 100 years ago.' This province, which shares a 1,300-kilometer land border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is considered one of the main routes for drug trafficking into Iran. Additionally, based on the 2006 census, out of a population of 2.35 million in Sistan and Baluchestan, over 640,000 are illiterate. Government officials announced last December that this province has 100,000 out-of-school children, and the Deputy Minister of Education also stated on November 1 of this year that Sistan and Baluchestan had the highest number of 'mud brick' classrooms in 2014. In this context, the Minister of Interior stated that 250,000 people around Zahedan live with facilities and conditions from 100 years ago, the Deputy Minister of Education mentioned that 700 mud brick schools are still operational in the country, and Molavardi stated that all the men in a village in Sistan and Baluchestan have been executed. Sistan and Baluchestan holds the record for marriages under 15 years old and has '100,000 out-of-school children.'