Respected United Nation’s Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon
Greetings,
I have been detained as a political prisoner for the past ten years in Rajai Shahr prison (Gohardasht, Iran), one of the worst detention centres in Iran. I have not committed any crime and there are no charges against me.
I have witnessed all forms of human rights violations including interrogations and illegal trials. I have been a witness of crime, torture, injustice, death, corruption, death due to lack of treatment, prisoner suicides, and more for ten years.
Prisoners in solitary confinement hall 2 of ward 1 are beaten with batons (sometimes electrical), sticks, and cable wire, which often causes the prisoners to urinate on themselves. Last year, a young man died after being beaten by a baton. Prisoners are left alone for several days in solitary cells with their hands tied behind their backs and their feet shackled. The only way they can be untied is if they call themselves and their family members derogatory names. In solitary confinement hall 2, taking a shower is considered a perk. Sometimes a prisoner is not able to take a shower for a full month. If a prisoner does not surrender to prison guards, they are prohibited from using the bathroom as well. There is no such thing as fresh air in this hall, and in its history there is no record of radio, television, newspaper, telephone, visits, or books. Prison guards address the prisoners by insulting and humiliating names. Seeing a doctor is a privilege that not everyone is entitled to. According to them, prisoners are not allowed to get sick or see a doctor more than once a month. A close friend of mine Amir Husain Heshmat Saran died because he did receive treatment on time. I also know of a sick prisoner at this hall whose name is Dariush Arjomand. He has been kept in solitary confinement for two and a half years. He is an AIDS patient and the prison clinic has stopped providing him with antibiotic pills so he will die sooner. They do not even give him the minimum medicine necessary for AIDS patients. Prison guards are afraid to open his cell to send him to the bathroom or a shower. His cell light has been out for a while but no one has gone in to change the bulb.
Our ward is managed by Hassan Akharian, a drug addict who treats the prisoners violently. If any prisoner objects to his unreasonable behaviour, they are automatically sent to solitary confinement hall 2. He has taken away the camera in one of the rooms so he can turn the space into a torture chamber. Ali Hajkazem is the corrupt head of Rajai Shahr prison who allows the guards to commit the crimes. In 2005, I identified more than ten cases of the sale of death row prisoner body parts without permission from the prisoners. Prison clinics have also participated in this crime. I know the names of three prisoners whose body parts were sold without their permission: Afshin Karimi, Shervin Goodarzi, and Ahmad Hanani.
The prison also lacks space and the prisoners go through mental breakdowns as a result. In Rajai Shahr prison, only four of the twenty four halls have beds. The prisoners in the other halls do not even have enough space to sleep; an obvious example of torture. In hall 1 and 3 of ward 1, mental prisoners are mixed with other prisoners, which results in abuse among prisoners.
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, I am trying to make a long story short, but I am not only speaking on my behalf. I am speaking on the behalf of all political and non-political prisoners who do not have access to your Excellency. I request that when you visit our beautiful country, please come see us in Rajai Shahr prison. It will be my pleasure to accompany you and your counselors and guide you through the darkest corners of the prison’s torture rooms and show you the signs of human rights violations. Certainly your visit to Iran and this prison can affect the conditions of more than 3,000 prisoners, in addition to providing you with more evidence for review.
We are eagerly waiting for your arrival.
Behrouz Javid Tehrani, political prisoner and human rights activist.
Rajai Shahr Prison, Hall 1, Ward 1, Goharsdasht, Karaj, Iran
No comments:
Post a Comment