UN requires response to Urmia jail disaster
Cruel and inhumane situations violate Iranian and worldwide legislation
March 6, 2024 – The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is sounding an pressing alarm in regards to the dire situations inside Iran’s Urmiyah Central Prison. There have been two suicides and two self-immolations in current weeks, marking a pointy improve in executions for the reason that begin of Iran’s revolution. Year. More than 800 prisoners echoed the letter calling for the elimination of jail warden Peyman Khanzadeh.
“The proven fact that prisoners are pressured into such excessive measures inside state-run services reveals the horrific situations they endure day-after-day. This reveals the system’s full disregard for human life. This is an indictment,” mentioned CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.
Responsibility for the protection of all prisoners lies straight with the Iranian National Prison Organization and the Attorney General, now recognized human rights violator Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, however particular duty for deaths in jail lies with Even although it hasn’t been made clear, it is nonetheless not clear. Evidence of intentional hurt or negligence suffered by prisoners in state custody.
Suicides are on the rise, self-immolations are being ignored
At least two inmates have dedicated suicide in current weeks.
“Amir Shahbazi dedicated suicide a couple of weeks in the past after fulfilling the calls for of all his accusers, leaving him solely days away from launch,” mentioned the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), who introduced in February that 800 prisoners The open letter, which was supported by 22, 2024, primarily based on audio information from prisoners additionally obtained by CHRI.
“Before committing suicide, in a letter to his household, he criticized the jail warden Peyman Khanzadeh and the top of Wards 1 and a pair of Akbar Maheri,” the letter added. It is being
On February 26, 2024, a couple of days after the discharge of the letter, Shahin Galedar, a Kurdish political prisoner from the village of Haki in West Azerbaijan, dedicated suicide by hanging himself in his cell whereas serving a two-year sentence for nationwide safety crimes. . According to KHRN, he was subjected to weeks of extreme torture by intelligence ministry interrogators.
Hassan Omarpour and Ashkan Osmanejad additionally self-immolated after the discharge of the letter after guards stormed the cells of political prisoners on February 28, 2024, assaulting some prisoners and destroying their belongings. did.
Prison warden Peyman Khanzadeh reportedly witnessed the boys burning however did nothing to extinguish the hearth.
Situations corresponding to extreme overcrowding and beatings
“The persevering with struggling throughout the jail partitions has change into insufferable,” the prisoners’ letter lamented. “Prison Warden Peyman Khanzadeh is just not solely exacerbating the plight of prisoners, but in addition inflicting struggling to his household.”
The letter additional clarifies: “Urumye Central Prison has six single cells, however every room typically homes six or extra prisoners, making it almost unattainable to sleep and even breathe. Those confined in these cells endure harsh situations together with insufficient gear, air flow, and sanctioned beatings by wardens. Amid these dire situations, their voices stay unheard. .”
Urmiye Central Prison was established in 1969 on the outskirts of the capital of West Azerbaijan Oblast and is a jail with an official capability of 700 inmates throughout 13 districts. However, the precise quantity held is prone to far exceed this restrict.
On October 23, 2023, 44 inmates started a starvation strike after negotiations with district supervisors over dire situations failed. Additionally, inmates have expressed considerations in regards to the stage of surveillance, with cameras put in in each cell and even within the lavatory.
Urmiyah’s situations violate Iran’s personal jail guidelines
Iranian human rights lawyer Saeed Dehghan mentioned in an interview with CHRI, “The outrageous and premeditated felony act carried out by the warden of Urmiyeh is in flagrant violation of quite a few nationwide jail organizational laws.”
This regulation was amended in January 2020, citing deficiencies, 18 days after poet Baktash Abutin died in state custody after he was not transferred from Evin jail to a hospital as scheduled. “However, this regulation is nothing greater than a chunk of paper for jail officers. Otherwise, why would the director of Urmia Prison so openly deprive political prisoners of all basic rights and never enable any increased authority on the nationwide or worldwide stage to take action? Can I declare that I’m not afraid? ” mentioned Deggan, who’s presently director of Parsi Legal Consultancy. ”
Dehgan, who has dealt with quite a few human rights circumstances in Iran, together with those that had been evacuated from Iran as a consequence of safety considerations, mentioned the warden was charged not solely with a number of violations of jail laws but in addition with felony acts underneath Article 570 of the Islamic Penal Code. He emphasised that there’s a risk that This contains orchestrating the assault of political prisoners by guards and denying them their authorized rights.
However, given the observe report of Islamic Republic officers, the chance of such prosecution and subsequent punishment, or any stage of accountability, stays virtually non-existent.
The UN Guiding Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners require that every one prisoners be “handled with respect primarily based on their inherent dignity and price as human beings” and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners require that every one prisoners be handled with respect primarily based on their inherent dignity and price as human beings. is outlined as follows: and all prisoners shall be shielded from torture and different merciless, inhuman and degrading therapy and punishment, no circumstances of which can be justified. The security and safety of prisoners, employees, service suppliers and guests should be ensured always. ”
Prison executions on the rise, disproportionately focusing on minorities
Meanwhile, in December 2023, at the very least 4 political prisoners, together with one lady from Vafa Hanare, Alam Omri, Rahman Palhazu, and Nasim Namazi (feminine) from the nation’s Kurdish minority, had been arrested. He was executed at Urmia Central Prison. Their alleged crimes of “waging conflict” and “corrupting the earth” are mentioned to be associated to cooperation with Israeli secret companies, accusations typically used to suppress dissent amongst ethnic minorities. It is.
Ethnic minorities in Iran are topic to institutionalized discrimination within the justice system and are disproportionately sentenced to lengthy jail phrases and dying sentences.
Another Kurdish political activist, Mohyeddin Ebrahimi, was executed in jail on March 16, 2023.
At least 31 prisoners had been executed inside jail partitions prior to now two months.