Response to 800-Signature Letter; Guards Attack Political Prison Section in Urmia Prison, Two Prisoners Self-Immolate

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that following an open letter signed by over 800 prisoners in Urmia Prison demanding the dismissal of Peyman Khanzadeh, the prison chief, and in light of a new suicide in the prison, guards attacked the political and ideological section of the prison on Wednesday, March 9, destroying prisoners' belongings and physically assaulting several inmates. According to the report, simultaneously with the guards' attack, two Kurdish prisoners also attempted self-immolation, suffering burns to their legs. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network noted that at least five political and ideological prisoners were injured in the head during the attack. It has been reported that two Kurdish prisoners, Hassan Omrpour and Ashkan Ousman Nejad, who had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'espionage for Israel,' self-immolated in 'protest against their unjust sentence, the execution of four co-defendants, and pressure on the prisoners in this section.' The Kurdistan Human Rights Network wrote that while the two prisoners suffered severe burns to their legs, the prison chief ordered that they not be transferred to the prison infirmary. Reports indicate that the high-security section of Urmia Prison, currently housing 42 political and ideological prisoners, was built several years ago at a greater distance from other sections of the prison, and the prisoners in this section are in completely isolated conditions. These events come amid reports of 'suicides' among prisoners in Urmia Prison in recent months, with the 'Hrana' website, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, announcing on March 7 that a political prisoner in this prison committed 'suicide' on the evening of March 6, 1402. Hrana identified the prisoner as 46-year-old Shahin Gol Dari from Urmia. According to human rights sources, Shahin Gol Dari was arrested by security forces in 2015 and in 2020 was sentenced to two years in prison by the third branch of the Urmia Islamic Revolutionary Court for 'acting against national security,' having been in Urmia Prison since March of last year to serve his sentence. Three days before this suicide, over 800 prisoners in Urmia Central Prison had issued an open letter pointing to an increase in the number of prisoner suicides due to what they described as 'harassment' in this facility, calling for the dismissal of Peyman Khanzadeh, the prison chief. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that the letter began with the statement: 'The prison chief, Peyman Khanzadeh, not only causes problems for the prisoners but has also involved families in issues in some cases.' According to this human rights organization, the suicide of a prisoner named Amir Shahbazi, who was sentenced to amputation, was due to pressures from the prison chief and officials of Urmia Central Prison. The letter emphasized that Amir Shahbazi had received the consent of all his plaintiffs weeks ago and was close to his release, yet he ended his life by suicide, stating in a letter that the prison chief and the dormitory supervisor were the reasons for his suicide. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that despite the alarming increase in suicides 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 of the prisoners. In January of this year, human rights organizations reported that a prisoner accused of theft in Urmia Prison committed suicide by taking pills and died. Hrana reported at that time that 'Amir Shahbazi' had been in Urmia Prison for four years and 'in protest against the violent behavior of prison officers' who intended to transfer him to solitary confinement, he ended his life by taking pills. The U.S. Treasury Department announced in October 2020 that Urmia Prison, along with Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, had been sanctioned by Washington. Mistreatment of prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons has always drawn severe criticism from activists and human rights organizations in Iran and around the world.