The Beginning of the End of the Clerical Rule in Iran
No.689
Suppression
Political prisoner details abhorrent condition of Rajayi Shahr PrisonAug. 20, 2010
Letter of PMOI political prisoner Saleh Kohandel from Rajayi Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison: Today, 250 people have to sleep in 100 cubic meters of space and hundreds of prisoners are forced to sleep compressed next to each other on their sides and sometimes even sleep on top of each other.
About 40 to 50 people are brought to this prison every day. The new arrivals are left in prison without the minimum necessary items and it only takes a few minutes for them to realize that in order to escape the beatings and abuse, they have to become blind, deaf and mute and to give in to the hell like conditions of prison.
If they have someone on the outside to at least transfer 250,000 tomans a week to their account, they will be able to buy narcotics or have a place to sleep but otherwise, they have to give in to the derogatory conditions and it does not take long for them to either commit suicide or cut their wrists as a result of the pressure. Or they go mad and sit around in the prison yard completely nude. Every once in a while a young handsome new arrival is hunted down by other prisoners and is group raped on the first or second night. Afterwards he pounds himself to the walls in a crazed fashion. You barely find anyone who is safe from the lice and groups of people can be seen sitting under the sun in the yard looking for lice in their underwear…
Only one overflowing bathroom exists for hundreds of people…
There are old men who stink of urine and excrement from meters away and mentally ill young men who urinate on each other at night or go to the bathroom anywhere they want, whether it is in their own pants, the area where they sleep, or the praying hall.
This place is filled with young and old men who have lost hope in everything and it is as if they have surrendered to death and there is no one to save them from torments of life…
I have nothing to say to the regime and its mercenaries whose sole responsibility is to be at animosity with the people of Iran and other countries, but I have a few words with human rights organizations.
The world that you human rights activists see is completely different from the world of Rajayi Shahr Prison. You talk of human rights, but here prisoners are even deprived of animal rights. You talk about sanitary facilities but the word ‘sanitation’ is like a dream for a prisoner and is so unheard of that prisoners easily transmit the most dangerous diseases to each other. You talk of the lack of fruits and vegetables in prisoners’ diets while prisoners here have to look in the trash for a piece of bread…
Your idea of the real pain of prison is much smaller than what I see in prison and if someone has experienced Rajayi Shahr Prison, they would protest and ask me why I was not able to convey the condition of this prison in these few sentences. I ask their forgiveness beforehand because they are right.
Iran cuts tongue of Kurd political prisoner
Aug. 20, 2010
Evin Prison interrogators cut the tongue of Kurd political prisoner Matin Arjan who is from the town of Batman in Turkey’s Kurdistan and he is in danger of death in prison. Arjan suffered two brain strokes in the past year in prison and is now paralyzed in both legs. Zaki Arjan, his brother, confirmed this report and said that he has gone to Iran four times to visit his brother.
“Matin is continuously tortured and is kept in solitary most of the time. They have cut his tongue and he has not received treatment and is close to death”, his brother said.
“They asked for 20,000 Euros for my brother’s release but they not only did not release him, they threatened that if I don’t leave Iran, I will be killed”.
Man sentenced to death on fabricated charges of murder of security forces
Aug. 19, 2010
According to reports, Amir-Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani was sentenced to death by the 71st branch of the Tehran Penal Court on false charges including murdering security forces.
On Tuesday August 17, Berazjani was taken to the Tehran Penal Court without prior notice and was trialed by Norollah Aziz Mohammadi. This prisoner is detained in cellblock 6 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj.
He was accused of complicity in the death of a security agent, 5 counts of armed and unarmed robbery, the possession of and carrying arms and ammunition, addiction and beating security forces…
The Judge did not allow him to defend himself in court…
Judge Aziz Mohammadi charged Berazjani with addiction even as this prisoner does not even smoke cigarettes…
On the same day after the trial, state-run media published false reports on Tavakoli’s trial and announced that he was sentenced to retribution (death) because of intentional murder, 10 years of prison on charges of armed robbery, and 74 lashes.
Before this, Tavakoli defended jailed teacher Rasoul Bodaqi in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj after he was attacked by security forces and was summoned to the office of the head of the prison intelligence department where he was abused and threatened.
Three agents of the intelligence agency went to the home of Soudabeh Shahpour, his mother, and after threatening her told her that she is not to mention in court that she was shot in the neck by security forces else she will be charged with apostasy on charges of becoming a Christian and will be executed. She was also threatened that they would harm her other children and nephew.
Notably on July 17, 2008, Tehran's security and intelligence agents raided the apartment of the Tavakoli Berazjani family arresting all the members of this family present at the time. Agents shot Soudabeh Shahpour, the 50 year old mother of the family in the neck. Abbas Tavakoli and his brother Hossein Tavakoli Berazjani were beaten and tortured in front of their other family members in their home for several hours.
All the arrestees were taken to this city's criminal intelligence department. Some of the people arrested were, Tan-naz Abolhusseini Ahmadi (16 year old female), Khosro Qaedi (17 years old), Mahnaba Tavakoli Berazjani (26 year old female), Fatemeh Farahani (female), Soudabeh Shahpour (50 year old female), Abbas Tavakoli Berazjani (38 years old), Hussein Tavakoli Berazjani (33 years old), and Mohsen.
The tortures inflicted on this family were as follows:
The skin of the sensitive parts of the prisoner's body were pressed with pliers which sometimes led to wounds and injuries
Toe nails were pressed with pliers
Beatings with clubs and other objects for a prolonged amount of time
Tying the hands and feet of the prisoner from the back and keeping him this position for a long time
Hanging the prisoner from the ceiling until the prisoner passed out
Depriving the prisoner of drinking water in the hot summer temperatures
The prisoner was only allowed to use the restroom twice in 24 hours
The judge handling their case threatened the female detainees with rape
Pulling a bag over the head of the prisoner while he was being tortured
Jumping on the hands and feet of the prisoner while handcuffed
The prisoners witnessed the torture of his/her family members or heard their cries while they were being tortured
Hussein Tavakoli Berazjani whose whole body was black and bruised from the torture, died in this detention center.
Political prisoner under torture for more than 90 days
Aug. 20, 2010
According to reports, political prisoner Reza Sharifi Bukani has been under physical, sexual and mental torture for close to 82 days to give a confession on television.
This 29 year old prisoner who has a degree in the French language was arrested on May 10 in Tehran by agents of the Intelligence Department of the Revolutionary Guards Forces. He was jailed in solitary in the 2A cellblock. Sharifi was physically and mentally tortured in solitary for 22 days. One of the tortures was being placed in a solitary cell for 22 days which was pitch-black both night and day. He was also tortured with electric shocks.
After 22 days, he was taken to a solitary cell in cellblock 209 in Evin Prison and was tortured there by intelligence agents for another 70 days.
Intelligence agents of the RGC tried to force him to ‘confess’ on television to later use against him in court by physically, sexually and mentally torturing him.
Sharifi did not have any visits or any contacts with his family while in solitary in cellblock 2A or 209. His family was not aware of his condition in this time.
Reza Sharifi was a member of the RGC Intelligence Agency who was arrested on charges of having email communications with a Kurd party. He has been charged with espionage and cooperation with political parties.
Sharifi has been transferred to Gohardasht (Rajayi Shahr) Prison and is kept under medieval conditions.
Jailed kickboxing instructor becomes paralyzed in prison as result of tortureAug. 18, 2010
Hossein Armin, a kickboxing instructor was arrested after police filed a criminal record for him and was tortured to accept the charges. As a result of the torture, his spinal cord was damaged and he has become paralyzed.
According to reports, he was falsely charged with murder but with time it was determined that the charges were made because the police were not able to arrest the real culprits and because of public dissatisfaction.
Iran: Rise in the abduction of ‘street children’19 August 2010
According to a report from Iran Press News, with the economic pressures on a daily rise as a result of the Iranian regime’s plunder and looting, the number of ‘working children’ in the streets is on the rise and families are forced to send their children to the streets for work to provide their daily necessities. This has caused crimes against children to rise, and by luring children are forced into vehicles and kidnapped.
Such crimes have risen to the point that state run news agencies are forced to broadcast several reports on it. In one case, Jahan News wrote: Ali, a small child who is seen throughout all hours of the day with his clear plastic bags of pealed nuts in the Tehran Pars intersection, told the Jahan News reporter: “Last night at around 9:30 pm, while my mother was waiting for us on the other side of the street, a big black truck stopped in front of us and pulled my sister in. I screamed so much that the man had to let my sister go!”
Iran: Suppressive forces attack and arrest youth in Tehran on bogus charges20 August 2010
The Iranian regime’s State Security Forces (SSF) attacked youths and passersby in Tehran’s Narmak and Tehran Pars districts, according to reports on Monday, arresting more than 50 people under the pretexts of “mal-veiling” and as “hooligans and thugs.”
SSF forces went on alert on Monday afternoon in Narmak, Haft Hoz, and Javadieh streets in Tehran Pars, patrolling the areas and arresting and beating passersby. Youths, however, resisted the violent attack and clashes ensued. SSF forces fired tear gas to combat the protests.
In Haft Hoz Street, a number of young girls were arrested for “mal-veiling.” Motorcycle riders were also attacked and a number of them were arrested and later transferred to the police station in Haft Hoz.
On Sunday, there were reports of several hours of clashes between people and the regime’s suppressive forces, with gun shots being heard, in the southern Tehran district of Ghiasi.
A number of pictures have in recent days been published on the Internet showing the suppressive agents’ attacks against youths in Iran
78 workers of a company fired in one month19 August 2010
78 workers from the Yassan Company have been fired from work. The Yassan Company is the manufacturer of various lifting cranes located on Arak Road, south of Tehran, Hambastegi Meli website reported.
At the beginning of the month, these workers with different ranks in the factory were fired by the management and 200 other workers of this factory are also facing the possibility of being fired.
Students Committee in Iran (Supporters of PMOI)
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