According to reports received by the Karun Human Rights Organization, on Friday, September 4, Arash Zolfaghari, a political prisoner in Ward 5 of Sheiban Prison in Ahwaz and one of those recently arrested following the Iran–Israel war, was subjected to a personal attack and sustained a severe neck injury.
The incident occurred while Zolfaghari was studying in the prison library, when he was assaulted from behind by Morteza Moradi, a non-political inmate, who attacked him with a sharp object. Other political prisoners present immediately provided help and saved him from certain death.
Zolfaghari, who faces charges including “links with Israel’s Mossad,” “espionage,” and “propaganda against the regime,” is currently being held in pre-trial detention, with his case under review by Judge Liraki at Branch 13.
In response to a political prisoner’s question about the deteriorating conditions in the prison and the disregard for the principle of separation of crimes, Khosrow Tarafi, the head of Sheiban Prison, stated: “I am the head and decision-maker, and you must simply obey.”
The Karun Organization had previously reported that, following the transfer of several inmates accused of serious crimes such as drug trafficking and theft into Ward 5, clashes broke out between political prisoners and these detainees, leaving several injured.
According to the report, prison authorities, in violation of the principle of separation of crimes as stipulated in Iranian law, have housed violent offenders alongside political prisoners. Ward 5 of Sheiban Prison, which has a nominal capacity of 100 people, is currently holding more than 125 political prisoners.
