Ben Blackwell, Originally Published on the Townhall Website
New credible evidence shows that there are unspeakable crimes and catastrophes taking place in Iranian prisons. The facilities are old and dilapidated, they are overflowing with prisoners, there is physical and psychological torture, and the regime clearly uses all this to intimidate the restive population.
Newly released documents obtained from inside the regime’s judiciary reveal a harrowing picture of Iranian prisons. They show that within 277 prisons, the number of actual prisoners is much higher than “nominal capacity” in those prisons. For example, the nominal capacity in one of the nation’s largest prisons in the city of Tabriz is 1,500, but the actual number of prisons is 2.5 times higher at 3,788. In the Kurdish region of Sanandaj, the nominal capacity is 290 while the actual number of prisoners is over three times higher at 978.
In the city of Karaj, near the capital Tehran, the documents show 2,150 beds while the number of prisoners is said to be 7,800, almost quadruple the number of available beds. Consequently, many prisoners are dealing with psychological torture and chronic sleep deprivation.
The treasure trove of documents, obtained by the main opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), also reveal the names of over 33,000 and pictures of 22,000 staff and personnel of the Prisons Organization, including wardens, interrogators, intelligence agents, and executioners. READ MORE…