Warning from 12 Political Prisoners About 'Humanitarian Catastrophe' in Qazalhessar Prison

A group of political prisoners has warned about the occurrence of 'another humanitarian catastrophe in Qazalhessar Prison' and the 'catastrophic consequences' of transferring Unit 4 of this prison to the central prison of Karaj, revealing that '1,600 death row inmates' are held in just one unit of Qazalhessar. In a statement from 12 political prisoners in Qazalhessar, which was received by Voice of America on Tuesday, October 17, they referred to the 'emergence of the nature of governments in prisons' and stated: 'We, the political prisoners of Unit 4 of Qazalhessar, while warning about the catastrophic consequences of the recent decision (to transfer Unit 4 of Qazalhessar Prison to the central prison of Karaj), express our strong protest and concern regarding these methods and behaviors that violate human rights.' The statement, signed by 'Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, Sepehr Imam Jomeh, Loqman Aminpour, Ahmadreza Haeri, Meysam Dehbanizadeh, Arsham Rezaei, Reza Salmanzadeh, Salahuddin Ziaei, Hamzeh Savari, Mostafa Ramazani, Saeed Masouri, and Reza Mohammadi Tameh,' emphasized: 'The nature of any government can be recognized from its prisons; exactly where there is no oversight and its nature is fully revealed.' They explained that 'the official capacity of Qazalhessar Prison is about eight thousand people,' yet 'currently, only in one unit of the four units of this prison (Unit 1), this capacity is fully occupied, and other units also hold prisoners far beyond their official capacity. For example, in Unit 2, about 1,600 people condemned to death are held.' These political prisoners also added: 'In these conditions, the authorities of the oppressive government have decided to transfer 1,700 prisoners, mainly from Unit 4 of Qazalhessar, to other units and hand over this unit to the central prison of Alborz province.' They stressed: 'The issue is not just preventing a catastrophe; Qazalhessar Prison itself is a catastrophe. Currently, about 12,000 prisoners are held in cells, prayer halls, and even hallways in an inhumane and catastrophic manner.' According to these political prisoners, 'in the governmental solitude where there is no oversight, prisoners are seen only as numbers; there is no human dignity for them, nor are their waiting families or their minimum human rights recognized.' The signatories of this statement also stated that 'the heartless decision-makers simply make decisions, and the spokesperson of the judiciary, without being aware of the disasters inside the prisons, announces that a certain prison will be closed and preparations for building another prison will be made,' while 'they have no information about the high ratio of incoming prisoners compared to those released' and 'even if some prisoners are released under pretenses like the 22nd of Bahman or the evacuation of Afghan nationals, within less than a month, the number of prisoners will exceed previous levels and the crisis will deepen.' The signatories emphasized that 'this level of injustice and violation, which does not even provide minimum human rights, such as adequate space for sleeping and movement, is due to the lack of oversight over prisons' and 'if the world, the families of prisoners, and the people of Iran knew that prisoners are kept in a manner similar to arranging books on library shelves and in three-tiered beds, perhaps extensive and ongoing campaigns against such atrocities would be initiated.' They also added: 'We, the political prisoners of Unit 4 of Qazalhessar, while warning about the catastrophic consequences of the recent decision (to transfer Unit 4 of Qazalhessar Prison to the central prison of Karaj), express our strong protest and concern regarding these methods and behaviors that violate human rights.' Voice of America sources had previously warned about the violation of prisoners' rights in Qazalhessar Prison in Alborz province. Additionally, in another report, a source familiar with Qazalhessar Prison informed Voice of America about the unprovoked violence of prison officials against ordinary prisoners in this prison, recounting that Afghan national prisoners held in Hall 19 of Unit 4 are beaten by the head of the prison guard. The U.S. Treasury and State Departments have sanctioned Qazalhessar Prison.