The suppressive agents transferred all political prisoners from Ward 4, including those affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), to the prison yard and kept them under the sun in scorching heat for about 5 hours.
In the course of the attack, a number of prisoners, including Afshin Baymani and Hamed Heydarpour, were transferred to the office of protection and intelligence. The Deputy of the office, Nabiollah Farajnejad, threatened them that they would be transferred to Ward 1 in order to pave the way for their murder. Gohardasht prison’s Ward 1, known to hold those who have reached their final stage, is a dreadful torture chamber, the circumstances of which are akin to the Kahrizak death camp.
Political prisoners incarcerated at Ward 4, including Mr. Mansour Osanlou, Shir-Mohammad Rezai, Asghar and Hamid Banazadeh Amirkhizi, Arjang Davoudi, Mansour Radpour, and Houd Yazarlou, have been enduring deteriorating conditions and have no security.
Sunday’s vicious assault was carried out on the orders of the notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and was headed by Ali Haj-Kazem, Gohardasht prison’s Warden. His deputy, Ali Mohammadi, as well as the head of the Protection and Intelligence Office, Kermani, and his deputy Nabiollah Farajzadeh, Henchmen identified as Shojai and Habib Karami also participated in the attack.
The Iranian Resistance warns about the cruel torture and threats to the lives of political prisoners, particularly Messrs Afshin Baymani and Hamed Heydarpour. It calls on all international authorities and human rights organizations, especially the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to adopt immediate measures aimed to investigations into violations of human rights in Iranian prisons and to stop the brutal suppression of prisoners by the religious fascism ruling Iran.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
August 31, 2009