New
Death of Political Prisoner in Custody
06 Sep 2006 22:01:10 GMT
Source:
Human Rights Watch
(
The Iranian government should
urgently appoint an independent commission of Iranian lawyers and doctors to
investigate the recent deaths of prisoners under suspicious circumstances,
Human Rights Watch said. The commission also needs to examine the conditions of
prisoners held for their political beliefs.
"Iranian prison
officials have a track record of giving false information about the fate of
political prisoners," said Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East
and
Mohammadi,
38, a student activist, died on July 30.
His family, who saw his body at the time of burial, told Human Rights Watch
that they saw numerous markings on the body consistent with torture. The
authorities forced Mohammadi's parents to bury him
immediately, ignoring their demand for an independent autopsy. Justice Minister
Jamal Karimirad said on July 31 that the cause of his
death was unknown and that results of an autopsy would be announced in a month.
More than a month later, Iranian officials have yet to provide any further
information on the cause of death.
On September 6, Iranian Labor News Agency reported Mahdavi's
death, citing claims by government officials that "he committed
suicide." Mahdavi was a 28-year-old sympathizer
of the outlawed opposition group Mojahedin Khalq Organization. He had been admitted to
The director of
Sources close to Mahdavi's family told Human Rights Watch that prisoners
held in the same hall as Mahdavi informed them that
on Saturday night Mahdavi's health deteriorated
greatly after nine days on a hunger strike. They said prison officials
repeatedly ignored Mahdavi's perilous health
condition until it reached a critical stage, and that he was unconscious when
prison officials ultimately transferred him to a hospital.
Iranian authorities arrested Mahdavi in 2001 and charged him with the crime of
"armed resistance against the state." Mahdavi
was denied access to a lawyer, and the court sentenced him to death. On June 6,
the Iranian Labor News Agency reported that the chief
of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi commuted Mahdavi's death sentence to life in prison.
Mahdavi's
lawyer, Mohammad Sharif, told Human Rights Watch that
Mahdavi told him over the phone that he started his
hunger strike to demand that he be allowed to meet with his lawyers in person,
and that he be moved out of Gohardasht prison, where
he said his life was under threat from prisoners who were dangerous criminals. Mahdavi's family and his lawyer did not have any access to
him after he was taken to the hospital.
Human Rights Watch also
expressed serious concern for Ali Ak