Transfer of Qazalhasar Prisoners in Karaj 'with Unclear Objectives'; Their Belongings 'Wrecked'

Despite prior warnings about a potential 'humanitarian disaster' due to the transfer of part of Qazalhasar Prison to the central prison of Karaj, reports received by Voice of America indicate that the process of transferring prisoners 'with unclear objectives' has begun, and it may also include political prisoners. According to a report sent to Voice of America on Tuesday, January 22, 'for several days now, the process of transferring prisoners from Unit 4 of Qazalhasar to other units and handing over this unit to the central prison of Karaj has started,' while they had repaired this unit at their own expense. An informed source described the decision by the Iranian Prison Organization officials to transfer Qazalhasar prisoners in Alborz province as 'bringing them to their knees.' The report states that the transfer of prisoners has begun 'under pressure and influence' from the director general of prisons in Alborz province, with 'about 970 prisoners' being moved. This informed source also emphasized that these transfers are occurring while 'necessary repairs in halls 22A and B in Unit 4' of Qazalhasar Prison had been funded entirely by the prisoners themselves, costing 'around 200 million tomans,' but 'after the repairs were completed, the prisoners were forced by an urgent order to gather their clothes and belongings' and 'were transferred to other units of Qazalhasar, where the present prisoners are also struggling with severe shortages of space and basic facilities.' The report also emphasized that the officials' objectives for transferring these prisoners remain 'unclear,' and 'this transfer placed the prisoners in a situation where they are crammed into a much more limited space than before,' and 'the transfer of prisoners' personal belongings was also declared prohibited, leaving their belongings in the halls.' According to this source, the belongings that the prisoners were not allowed to take with them are valued at approximately 500 million tomans, including 24 refrigerators, 15 televisions, 12 air conditioners, about 35 carpets, and a large volume of other personal items, which were said to have been 'abandoned like war ruins' and 'were essentially wrecked and allocated to the budgetary imbalance costs of the provincial governor's office and the management of Karaj prisons.' This source also stated that many of the mentioned prisoners are detained 'for minor drug offenses' and are currently 'deprived of even the minimum facilities such as a place to sleep, clothes to wear, and space to breathe.' The report also emphasized that 'there is a possibility of transferring political prisoners from Unit 21 of Unit 4 of Qazalhasar to an unknown location,' while 'these prisoners have been exiled and transferred three times in the past 18 months from Gohardasht Prison to Evin, from Evin to the secure section of Qazalhasar, and from the secure section to Unit 4 of Qazalhasar, with their belongings looted in each transfer.' The informed source also emphasized that it seems that for the governor of Alborz and the director general of prisons in this province, 'this situation is of no importance, as the human rights of prisoners are clearly being ignored,' and 'they are seeking personal and financial benefits by exploiting the conditions of the prisoners.' In recent days, a group of political prisoners warned about the occurrence of 'another humanitarian disaster in Qazalhasar Prison' and the 'catastrophic consequences' of handing over Unit 4 of this prison to the central prison of Karaj, revealing that only in one unit of Qazalhasar, '1,600 death row inmates' are being held. Furthermore, after the confirmation of the evacuation of Rajai Shahr Prison and the removal of prisoners from it, Hediyeh Kimiayi, a journalist and analyst on Iranian issues, told Voice of America that this prison 'is a record of the crimes of the Islamic Republic' and the government 'is destroying the evidence of its crimes.' Meanwhile, Mojtaba Abdollahi, the governor of Alborz, claimed that the transfer of Rajai Shahr prisons and then Qazalhasar from Alborz province to Tehran province was due to 'the concerns of officials and the demands of the people.'