Dear Mr. Ahmad Shaheed
and Mrs. Navi Pillay
Listen to my cry out
against injustice!
I am Shahrokh Zamani, the
trade unionist, and have been living in Tehran since 30 years ago. I was arrested
when I went to Tabriz to visit my parents on June 8, 2011 without any proof or
judicial order by armed intelligence agents. I was under mental and physical
torture in the solitary confinement and was insulted and threatened to death
and even being rapped to accept what the interrogator was dictating. I went on
hunger strike for 32 days and did not answer any question, demanding being
tried in a court in presence of my lawyer and jury and I lost 28 kilo grams of
my weight.
I was tried by judge
Hamlbar in the branch number 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz without any
evidences and sentenced to 11 years in prison. The judge himself has confessed
in the issued verdict that I have been denying the charges during the
investigation process. So he has to be held accountable for the reason of this
heavy sentence. The verdict was confirmed by judge Imani in the branch 6 of the
Appeal Court of the East Azerbaijan Province which is known as the confirmation
branch. The branch 29 of the Supreme Court which is known as the intelligence
branch also confirmed the sentence. Mr. Pour Faridi, who was my lawyer at the
time asked the judge of the appeal court to show at least one acceptable proof
for the issued sentence. A judge of the Supreme Court had told my mother that
there is no evidence according to which even 1 day in prison sentence could be
issued.
According to the Article
22 of the internal bylaw of the prisons any military, judicial and intelligence
body is definitely forbidden from interfering in the inner issues of the
prisons. However there are intelligence offices in all prisons such as ward 209
in Evin Prison, ward 37 in Tabriz Central Prison and ward 8 of the IRGC in
Rajai Shahr Prison who are controlling and monitoring the political prisoners
in a daily basis. By the order of the intelligence officers I was transferred
to different wards in Tabriz Central Prison such as quarantine, ward 12 where
the dangerous prisoners are kept and ward 15 which is known as Methadone ward
and the prisoners there are suffering from HIV, Hepatitis and Gangrene. Then I
was exiled to the Yazd Prison and afterwards to the Rajai Shahr Prison in
Karaj. Finally and despite the internal bylaw of the prisons which states the
separation of the prisons according to their crimes I was exiled to the Ghezel
Hesar Prison where the drug-related prisoners are kept.
I was the representative
of the political prisoners of the ward 12 of the Rajai Shahr Prison trying to
defend the rights of the prisoners and complaining to the authorities about the
closing of the only library of the prison, increase in the spreading of the
dangerous electrical noises and beating the prisoners. I asked the authorities
to respect the prisoners’ right in accordance with the internal bylaw of the
prisons through a letter.
None of these prisons
have the least legal standards and the prisoners are deprived of their rights
such as nutrition, health care, education, sport, contact with their families
through telephone calls, prison visits, furloughs and letters and are under
systematic mental and physical tortures. Despite the article 3 of the internal
bylaw of the prisons which says the aim of the imprisonment is pedagogy the
most violent and illiterate people are chosen as the authorities of the prisons
who consider torturing the prisoners as a key to heaven.
Dear Sirs,
As a trade unionist, I
have been arrested and imprisoned illegally and have been exiled to one of the
worst prisons of Iran which can be compared to the prisons of the middle ages.
Ghezel Hesar Prison has 10 independent wards with the capacity of 7000
prisoners however there are 20 to 38 thousand prisoners there. At the moment
there are 21 to 22 thousand prisoners in this prison including 3000 death row
prisoners, 7000 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and almost this much
sentenced to 15 years in prison. There are 10 to 20 prisoners hanged every
month. Most of the issued sentences are under torture and in the absence of the
lawyer and jury. Since a prisoner enters the prison he has to be naked in 3
different points in front of 2 or 3 cameras. In the 7.5 quarter meters rooms
there are 9 to 16 prisoners kept. In ward 3, which is known as the best one,
there are only 5 bathrooms which are usable only for 40 minutes to 2 hours a
day for 160 to 200 prisoners.
There is no water between
1 p.m. and p.m. most of the days. There is no proper health care system. Each
prisoner is taken to the clinic once a month and the doctors there always give
some pills without examining them. The food is made of soybeans for animals and
has such law quality that most prisoners prefer to be hungry and not eat that
food. Those who want to buy food from the restaurant have to pay 17 thousand
Tomans for the chicken which is sold for 6 thousand Tomans outside the prison.
The bad financial condition of the prisoners makes them deal drugs and cigarettes
– where it is forbidden – telephone cards, calling times etc. There is no book
in the prison to read. In a place called Dar-Al-Koran the prisoners are forced
to learn Arabic and memorize Koran and are misused as finks. The other
prisoners name there Dar-Al-Sheytan (The home of devil) since the prisoners are
humiliated there and forced to spy on the other prisoners.
Any objection will face
solitary confinement, cutting the hairs, being beaten and lashes on the sole.
The prisoners are thrown in the pool and then tortured with electric hemlocks.
Mr. Shirazi who is responsible for the quarantine and his entire family
including his daughters, sons and daughter-in-law work in the prison as well in
used to insult the prisoners’ families added to beating the prisoners.
There are lot of
prisoners suffering from HIV, Hepatitis and Gangrene. In ward 1 where there
6000 prisoners only 400 prisoners are healthy and others are suffering from
HIV, Gangrene and Tuberculosis. 65 to 70 prisoners have died during recent 4
months. During the first week of the Iranian New Year 4 prisoners died because
of not being transferred to the hospital.
In ward 4 which is known
as workhouse ward there are 15 prisoners whose HIV test was positive.
This was a summary of the
situation of the prison where I am being kept.
Dear Mr. Ahmad Shaheed
and Mrs. Navi Pillay;
I have been on hunger
strike since 33 days ago in protest to being exiled to Ghezel Hesar Prison and
have lost 20 kilo grams weight. Despite writing 12 letters to the authorities
of Ghezel Hesar Prison asking them to be returned to the political ward of the
Rajai Shahr Prison I have not received any answer yet. Considering the
authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran responsible for any mental and
physical harm I urge you to dispatch a commission of inquiry and put pressure
on the Islamic Republic to fulfill their obligations according to their own
laws and return me to the political ward.
I thank you for all your
efforts
Sincerely Yours
Shahrokh Zamani
April 7, 2014
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