Iran: 100 years behind bars for 3 political prisoners

Three political prisoners held in Minab Prison, southern Iran, have been sentenced to a total of 100 years behind bars. Mohammad Hossein Rezaie, Kamal Sharifi and Afshin Sohrabzadeh are three Kurdish political prisoners sentenced to 45, 30 and 25 years behind bars, respectively. They have been held in exile in Minab Province in Hormozgan Province.
This prison, with a capacity of 1,000 inmates and a small number of political prisoners, lacks any special ward for political prisoners. Being far from their native town makes any family visit very difficult and very expensive for their families. Lack of supplies and the authorities’ failure to separate the prisoners based on their crimes, has caused issues for these prisoners which they continuously complain about.

 Mohammad Hossein Rezaie

Mohammad (Khosro) Hossein Rezaie, 31, was arrested in 2011 along with a number of others from a village by the name of Tabe’e near the city of Sanandaj, west of Iran. He was charged with being a member of the Kurdistan Revolutionary Kumele group.

 Kamal Sharifi

Currently aged 43, Sharifi was arrested in 2008 in the city of Saghez, western Iran. He has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars and to be kept in exile. He was transferred to Minab Prison after his ruling was upheld.

 Afshin Sohrabzadeh

Aged 24, he was arrested on 8 June 2010 by intelligence agents in the city of Kamiyaran, western Iran. After vigorous interrogation in the Kamiyaran Intelligence Department he was Sanandaj Central Prison.
During a very short trial in branch 2 of the Sanandaj court he was charged with ‘moharebe’ (enmity against God) through his membership in Kurdish opposition parties and sentenced to 25 years in exile in Minab Prison.

 (March 11, 2016)