New warden steps up pressure on prisoners

 

 

Iranian opposition media report that Evin Prison was raided by special guards today, and political prisoners were subjected to body searches.

The Kaleme website reports that on Tuesday, special guards swarmed section 350 of Evin Prison, transferred all prisoners to the yard and searched their bodies as well as their cells, in an unprecedented move.

The report indicates that the prisoners reacted to the operation by giving anti-regime slogans as well as slogans in support of opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.

In recent months, several reports from families of prisoners indicate that Evin Prison authorities have been subjecting political prisoners to mistreatment. The reports have been linked to the arrival of the new prison warden, Ali Ashraf Rashidi, who had been the head of Kermanshah Prison.

Kaleme reports that the new warden is using security personnel to further increase pressure on prisoners with the use of threats.

A group of families of prisoners has issued a statement in protest against the increased pressure on their kin since the transfer of the new warden, demanding that the authorities respect the rights of prisoners according to the constitution.

Source: Radio Zamaneh