After few days of complete silence regarding the fate of over 20 political prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison, reports received by Iran International indicate that security forces and the prison’s special guard unit stormed the political ward, violently attacked the prisoners, bound their hands and feet, covered their heads with sacks, and transferred them to solitary confinement. In response to what has been described as “systematic repression and violence,” the prisoners have launched a collective hunger strike.
A source close to the families told Iran International on Wednesday, July 30, that the raid on Ward 4 of Ghezel Hesar Prison marked a new phase of targeted suppression, primarily aimed at members of the “No to Execution Wednesdays” campaign.
According to this report, at least 25 political prisoners were targeted. Among them, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani were executed following the assault. The remaining prisoners have been transferred to solitary cells in Unit 3 and are being held in complete isolation, with no news of their condition.
Some of the known prisoners affected include:
Hamzeh Sawari, Zartosht Ahmadi-Ragheb, Loqman Aminpour, Akbar Bagheri, Meysam Dehban-Zadeh, Sepehr Emam-Jom’eh, Ahmadreza Haeri, Asadollah Hadi, Reza Mohammad-Hosseini, Abolhassan Montazer, Ali Moezi, Arsham Rezaei, Khosrow Rahnama, Reza Salman-Zadeh, Mohammad Shafei, Mostafa Zamani, and Salahuddin Ziaei.
Background on Hamzeh Sawari
Hamzeh Sawari, was arrested by security forces on September 2, 2005, when he was just 18 years old. He was sentenced to death by the Ahwaz Revolutionary Court on charges of “corruption on earth, enmity against God, and actions against national security.” His death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, and the “corruption on earth” charge was dropped.
Over 20 years of imprisonment, Sawari has spent nearly nine months in solitary confinement and has developed several serious medical conditions, including:
• Varicocele (which had surgery for but recurred),
• Baker’s cyst behind his right knee,
• Arthritis,
• Chronic stomach pain, and
• More recently, after years of chest pain and repeated visits to prison doctors and external hospitals, he was diagnosed with pleural inflammation.
Ongoing Concerns for Other Political Prisoners
Meanwhile, Saeed Masouri, one of Iran’s longest-held political prisoners who has been incarcerated for over 25 years without a single day of furlough, has recently been transferred to Zahedan Prison. His family has had no contact with him and remains completely unaware of his current condition.
According to sources close to the families, in the days following the violent raid on the political ward, families who attempted to visit their loved ones were told that the prisoners had been transferred to solitary confinement and that no visits or phone calls would be permitted for two weeks. However, the lack of any confirmation of the prisoners’ physical well-being or their exact location has caused deep concern and fear among their families.
