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Iran’s Judiciary opens cases against 6 guards for prison abuse charges

Tuesday, 31 August 2021 5:39 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 31 August 2021 6:12 PM ]

A file photo shows an entrance to Evin Prison in northern Tehran, Iran.

Iran’s judiciary has opened cases against six security guards at Tehran’s high-security Evin Prison in connection with viral videos that apparently showed mistreatment of inmates.

The newly-appointed Judiciary spokesman Zabihullah Khodaeian, in his first press briefing on Tuesday, said four guards had been introduced to a military court, two others referred to a revolutionary tribunal, and some others put in detention.

Judicial authorities have also summoned two prison guards in the case, he said.

It comes after an investigation by Attorney General Mohammad-Ja’far Montazeri on the orders of Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who called for a “comprehensive investigation” into the incident last week.

“The scenes shown in the published films were against the law and it is not justifiable under any circumstances,” Khodaeian said, adding, however, that the leaked clips had been selected and edited from different scenes over the years.

He said it was unjust to attribute the “misconduct of some violators” to the entire prison organization and its hard-working employees.

Iranian official apologizes over prison mistreatment video; Judiciary chief orders probe

The head of the Iranian Prisons’ Organization has apologized over “bitter” incidents at Tehran’s Evin Prison, after footage went viral of what appears to be some guards mistreating inmates at the facility.

“Prison guards have one of the hardest and most difficult jobs in the world, and our colleagues in the prison organization are always available to prisoners,” he stated.

He said that there are cases related to violations by the prison staff, which are “criminal and prosecutable,” and cases that pertain to clashes and self-mutilation by prisoners, where prison officers “cannot be blamed.”

The footage from the detention center’s surveillance cameras was posted on social media last Monday.

The head of Iranian prisons, Mehdi Hajmohammadi, immediately tendered an apology for what he described as “bitter events” and “unacceptable behavior” inside the north Tehran prison, while vowing to “deal seriously with wrongdoers” and “prevent the repeat of such bitter events.”

Pertinently, the footage emerged amid extensive efforts by judiciary officials and prison chiefs toward ensuring inmates’ well-being, and better remedial programs aimed at enabling their return to society.

Iran's judiciary has also been engaged in a full-scale anti-corruption crusade in the country in the last few years, which has been acknowledged by all and sundry.

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