Sale of Evin Prison to Tehran Municipality Canceled

The head of Iran's Prisons Organization has announced that the sale of Evin Prison to the Tehran Municipality has been canceled, stating that the municipality showed "no interest" in purchasing Evin Prison. On Wednesday, January 18, in an interview with Nasim Online, Asghar Jahangir informed reporters about the latest status of the sale, mentioning that "our experts have repeatedly followed up with the Tehran Municipality regarding the buying and selling of Evin." He added that the Prisons Organization has also "reported this lack of interest in purchasing to the head of the judiciary." Jahangir further noted that there may still be negotiations with other entities, including government organizations that have also expressed interest, and that their names will be announced if this matter is finalized. The head of the Prisons Organization reported the Tehran Municipality's lack of interest in purchasing Evin Prison, despite the fact that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of the city, had previously proposed this idea. He had referred to the head of the judiciary's agreement to convert Evin Prison into a public park, stating that the judiciary was prepared to cover part of the costs of this project. However, it seems that after Jahangir stated that Evin Prison would not be transferred to the Tehran Municipality for free and considering the high land prices in the Evin area, the municipality concluded that the price of Evin Prison would be too expensive for them. The Mehr News Agency also reported, citing Jahangir, that according to the sixth development plan, 20 prisons are to be relocated outside of cities this year. Regarding the budget for relocating prisons, he mentioned that "previously we had an estimate between 8 to 14 trillion tomans, which of course needs to be revised." Nevertheless, the head of the Prisons Organization called for a budget appropriate for this goal and added that "when a prison moves from a closed environment to an open area outside the city, its problems are also transferred." Jahangir continued by stating that the Prisons Organization is "facing a 50% budget shortfall and is encountering problems in various areas such as nutrition and health care," criticizing what he termed the "weak closure" of the judiciary's budget. He also referred to the issue of "aligning the prison population with prison space," stating that "judicial officials must consider legal considerations when sending defendants to prisons and should refrain from sending to places that are overcrowded." This judicial official also added that in recent years, there has been a "10% annual increase in prison admissions, but in the last two years, with the new directives, this trend has stopped and then decreased."