Behrooz Javid Tehrani Transferred Out of the “Doghouse

According to reports by Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, political prisoner Behrooz Javid Tehrani is on his thirteenth day of hunger strike. Even though he is under excruciating physical and mental torture, he remains defiant and defends his rights, which has forced the prison guards to heed to his demands.

On Monday April 12, 2010, political prisoner Behrooz Javid Tehrani left the prison guards no choice but to remove him from the Doghouse in Gohardasht prison. He has been transferred to ward 1, the area reserved for prisoners who plan to be released. Upon being removed from the Doghouse, Behrooz began to eat again. The head of ward 1 Hassan Akharian has turned one of the cells into a torture chamber. Defenseless prisoners are transferred to this cell after they are shackled and blindfolded. The prisoners are then savagely tortured for long periods of time. The torture chamber was built after Akharian became appointed the head of the ward.

Behrooz Javid Tehrani has lost a lot of weight as a result of the unbearable and inhumane conditions in prison. Despite this, his spirits remain high, and upon his return to ward 1, the other prisoners cheered him on. For the past two weeks, a number of other prisoners in the Doghouse have also gone on hunger strike. Their names are: Es’hagh Sourani, Hossein Karimi, Reza Jalali, Abbas Yousefi, and Mohammad Nessari.

Es’hagh Sourani was among the prisoners used by Akharian as a “gang type” member who was instructed to physically attack other prisoners. Akharian would issue orders for Sourani (to attack with either his bare hands or a knife) and Sourani would carry out the orders. Sourani refused to carry out the latest order by Sourani, and expressed regret for what he had done in the past. As a result, Sourani was transferred to solitary confinement and savagely tortured. Sourani informed the prison judge of the abuse, but nothing has been done to alleviate the situation.

Hossein Karimi was one of the prisoners who participated in the ward 1 revolt on February 10, 2010. He had personally manhandled Hassan Akharian for insulting his family and had thrown him out of the ward, after stripping him of all his clothes first. Karimi is sentenced to execution and the prison officials are eager to carry out the order to seek revenge. The physical condition of Sourani, Karimi, and Javid Tehrani is worsening and their lives are in serious danger due to excruciating prison conditions and medieval torture methods.

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran condemn torture for prisoners and asks the UN High Commissioner to activate the files for crimes against humanity.

Translation by: Tour Irani | Persian2English.com