Iran: Unprecedented raid of MOIS agents into political prisoners ward in Orumieh prison

NCRI – At noon of Sunday, January 23rd, high-ranking MOIS agents in the Western Azerbaijan Province raided and assaulted political prisoners in Ward 12 of Orumieh prison. According to a report, at 2:00 pm Sunday, the Chief of Orumieh prison, Head of prison security, prison manager along with 30 MOIS agents including head of the MOIS department in the Western Azerbaijan Province raided Ward 12 of the Orumieh prison, and while taking off the clothes of many of the prisoners and transferring them to the prison’s yard, started beating the prisoners.

In this organized raid the political prisoners, who are mostly in critical health conditions due to their hunger strikes, were severely wounded and all their personal belongings were destroyed and their diaries and personal notes confiscated.

It is worth noting that following the execution of Hossein Khezri in Orumieh prison and the announcement of political prisoners starting a hunger strike, all visits of the prisoners have been cancelled and they are prohibited from contacting their families through telephone. Moreover, ordinary prisoners are also prohibited from communicating with the political prisoners.

The MOIS agents used the prisoners’ hunger strike and their transfer of news to outside the prison as pretext to carry out this raid.

There are currently 10 prisoners in the Orumieh Prison that following the execution of Hossein Khezri, have gone on a hunger strike, most of them are reported to be in critical condition.

Mohammad Amin Abdullahi and Jafar Goushvarei are currently being held in solitary confinement in Orumieh prison, and there is no information on the conditions of Qader Mohammad Zadeh and Ali Ahmad Suleiman who have been taken to Orumieh’s intelligence department.