Analyzing by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 25, 2021—According to reports from Urmia Central Prison, Iranian regime authorities are denying inmates access to food and are increasing repressive measure to torture prisoners.
Since Tuesday, March 23, prison authorities have reduced food rations to a quarter. When prisoners protested to these measures, prison guards responded by threatening to give a seven-month extension to the prison sentence of any inmates who continues to protest.
This is happening while the prisoners of Urmia Central Prison are already facing the spread of coronavirus. Prison authorities refrain from taking protective measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and they are denying inmates the most basic medical needs when they contract the virus. Prisoners who contract the virus are mixed other prisoners, which further contributes to the spread of Covid-19. And the authorities are doing nothing to protect prisoners who are suffering from health conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19.
And now, in addition to all this pressure, the prisoners are suffering from lack of access to proper food.
Gohardasht Prison, Karaj
On Wednesday, political prisoners in Ward 4 in Gohardasht Prison, Karaj, covered the ward’s surveillance cameras in protest to inhumane policies by prison authorities. The move was in response to a decision by Amin Vaziri, the prison’s judicial authority, to prevent a political prisoner from attending his daughter’s funeral.
Political prisoner Arash Nasri, whose 15-year-old daughter suddenly passed away on the first days of the Persian New Year, had requested to attend his daughter’s funeral. But Vaziri declined his request, claiming that his sentence was “security-related” and his presence at the funeral would cause insecurity in the society.
Nasri is serving 17 years in prison for being a member of the Kurdish opposition group Khebat.
These measures are taking place while the regime is increasingly afraid of the explosive state of the society and fears the eruption of another round of nationwide protests.
On Wednesday, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the judiciary said on national television that “no insecurity will be tolerated in the society” and declared that judiciary officials and state security forces will deal with anyone who “disrupts the society’s security.”
Meanwhile, Hossein Salami, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), declared that the IRGC will be taking strict security measures as the regime’s presidential elections close in. According to Salami, three military garrisons and Basij forces will be involved in these efforts.
