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Iranwire – Political prisoner Hamzeh Sarwari has described Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj, near Tehran, as a “horrific slaughterhouse” where a humanitarian “catastrophe” should be expected.
“The only viable solution is to promptly shutter this prison and relocate the inmates to a more appropriate detention facility,” Sarwari wrote in a letter published by the activist HRANA news agency.
Sarwari, who was among a group of prisoners transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison to Ghezelhesar on September 3, said that the facility is “overcrowded, unsanitary and dangerous.”
He described the solitary cells as having “dirty carpets” and lacking basic amenities.
The toilets and bathrooms are combined in the same small space, with a camera monitoring “every corner.”
The prison is home to a variety of inmates, including “Sunni figures,” political prisoners, people on death row and “dangerous criminals,” a mix that creates a volatile environment that is prone to violence, Sawari also said.
Sawari was arrested in August 2005, at the age of 16.
He was initially sentenced to death by the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court, southwestern Khuzestan province, on charges of “corruption on Earth,” “waging war against God” and “undermining national security,” but the sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
Throughout his incarceration, this political prisoner has endured a host of medical issues, including knee lumps, lumbar disc and spine problems, as well as varicocele.
