Political Prisoners Protest Forced Evacuation of Unit 4 at Gohardasht Prison in Karaj

Reports received by Voice of America indicate that following the decision by officials of the Islamic Republic's Prison Organization to forcibly evacuate Unit 4 of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, political prisoners in this unit have described the action as 'childish and shortsighted' and emphasized their commitment to defending the rights of prisoners in this unit. According to these reports, the Prison Organization intends to evacuate Unit 4 of Gohardasht Prison 'despite the high density of prisoners' and allocate this unit to the central prison of Karaj. This unit houses approximately 1,700 prisoners, consisting of 1,200 prisoners working in the prison workshops and about 500 Afghan nationals. According to a family member of a political prisoner held in Gohardasht Prison, the sudden and forced transfer of prisoners in Alborz province, especially in recent years, has led to 'miserable' conditions for the prisoners. Reports indicate that the 'merger of Rajai-Shahr Prison into Gohardasht Prison' last summer and the transfer of over 1,200 prisoners to Gohardasht, followed by 'the transfer of over a thousand drug offenders from Karaj Prison' to Gohardasht, had resulted in many prisoners lacking 'places to sleep and live' and serving their sentences in 'miserable conditions' until a few months ago. Gohardasht Prison, which was previously designated for holding drug-related offenders in Tehran province, has recently become a place for the detention of political prisoners and criminal suspects. According to a family member of political prisoners in Unit 4 of Gohardasht Prison, 'frequent relocations have inflicted serious psychological and emotional harm on the prisoners and constitute a form of harassment,' while also affecting their families, who are 'struggling with dozens and hundreds of problems in today's dire economic conditions.' This source stated that the central prison of Karaj is attempting to acquire other prison buildings nearby, despite having several hectares of land in its vast grounds, which could be used to build new, standard facilities. He noted that given Gohardasht's status as the main drug prison in Tehran province suffering from severe overcrowding, 'the proposal to pardon prisoners who have served a specified period of their sentences' and 'the construction of new, standard halls in the spacious grounds of the central prison of Karaj' would significantly alleviate the overcrowding issue at Gohardasht Prison. Previously, Gholamali Mohammadi, the head of the Prison Organization, acknowledged that there are 'more prisoners in Iranian prisons than the global average.'