Iran: Four Sunni prisoners die due to torture and lack of medical treatment

Dozens of Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht on death row
Call for support for Sunni prisoners and their families

While the religious fascism ruling Iran demagogically holds “unity week” on the occasion of the birthday of the prophet of Islam and brags about Shia-Sunni brotherhood and equality, it has in fact intensified suppression, execution and tormenting to death of Sunni prisoners in various prisons of the country.

On December 27-30, three Sunni prisoners in Zahedan central prison lost their lives due to torture and being deprived of medical treatment.

On December 30, Eqbal (Mehdi) Naroui, 23, a Sunni Baluchi prisoner in Zahedan lost his life in the Quarantine Ward of Zahedan prison due to tortures he suffered in the hands of regime’s henchmen. He was transferred to the Quarantine Ward after he protested pressures imposed by torturers and got into a brawl with them. Three days earlier, Farzad Naroui, 40, had also lost his life in Ward 5 of Zahedan central prison due to barbaric tortures and deprivation of medical treatment. He was transferred to the prison ward after undergoing three days of torture in Zahedan’s bureau of investigation while in critical condition suffering from severe wounds in the back and legs. However, head henchman Khalili, the prison’s intelligence deputy, prevented him from receiving any medical treatment.

On December 28-29, Mehdi Naroui, 38, and Gholam Rabbani, 40, also lost their lives because they were deprived of medical treatment. They had spent six and two years in prison respectively.

Meanwhile, there are dozens of Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison, especially in Hall 10 of Ward 4, that have been condemned to death and their death sentences have been confirmed by the regime’s henchmen in its Supreme Court. They have been sentenced to death upon absurd and mullah-fabricated allegations such as “propaganda against the system, corruption on earth, and Moharebeh”.

Moreover, in recent days, the wards of Gohardasht Prison where Sunni prisoners are kept have been raided by the Revolutionary Guards and faced inspections with prisoner-transfers now and then while extra restrictions have been imposed on these wards.

The Iranian Resistance calls on the Iranian people, especially the youth of any belief and religion to rise to the support of all prisoners and their families, especially the Sunni prisoners. This regime is the enemy of all people, Sunni or Shia, Muslim and non-Muslim. It merely abuses religion and belief as an instrument for suppression of the people. The equality and unity that this regime talks of is in reality tantamount to equality in getting suppressed, oppressed, hanged, or deprived and poor.

The Iranian Resistance also calls on all international bodies, especially the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and other pertinent Rapporteurs and bodies not to remain silent in the face of the crimes of this medieval regime and to urge the UN Security Council to take effective measures to end the barbaric and systematic violations of human rights in Iran and to demand an end to the dire conditions in its prisons.