Open Letter from Dozens of Prisoners Regarding Their 'Dismal' Conditions in Urmia Prison

Thirty-nine prisoners held in Urmia Prison have written an open letter to the head of Iran's Prisons Organization and international human rights organizations, highlighting their dire conditions in two security wards of the prison and pleading for assistance. The letter, published on Thursday, May 24, on the websites of the 'Kurdistan Human Rights Network' and the 'Campaign to Support Political and Civil Prisoners,' mentions 'torture' of those protesting the poor prison conditions and multiple suicides among inmates as a result. The letter states that the section consists of 'two 30-square-meter rooms, one referred to as the secure ward and the other as the special ward,' and that 'only in the secure ward is there limited contact with family,' while other prisoners are deprived of any visits or contact. The open letter notes: 'Each of us has been transferred here as punishment due to false reports from the prison, and we do not know how long we will remain here.' Over 800 prisoners previously demanded the dismissal of the head of Urmia Central Prison. These political prisoners stated that their efforts to meet with the prison warden have been fruitless, declaring: 'Several inmates in this ward have attempted suicide in protest of the harsh conditions; we have lost hope in life and even see comfort in death.' They further wrote: 'Those who protest this situation are severely tortured by prison guards, and even doctors do not come here to treat us.' Previously, 800 prisoners in Urmia Central Prison had called for the dismissal of Payman Khanzadeh, the prison head, in March due to increasing suicide cases attributed to the mistreatment by officials. The prisoners described the 'dismal conditions' and 'terrifying circumstances' in solitary confinement and the 'clean ward,' stating that several inmates in these two sections have 'committed suicide in recent months, and every few months, the body of a prisoner is handed over to a grieving family.' Human rights activists and organizations have consistently pointed to torture and mistreatment of prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons and have warned that these issues are much more severe and common in prisons outside the capital. The prisoners of the two wards in Urmia Prison wrote: 'These two wards are so overcrowded that there is no room to sleep; therefore, we ask the officials of Iran's Prisons Organization to send an inspection to see our condition with their own eyes.'