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Iran
Daniel Zeinolabedini, 17, was confirmed dead on March 31, reportedly killed by Iranian security forces at Miandoab prison in Urmia, Western Azerbaijan. Photo via KHRN
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Paris-based Iran human rights monitor published new evidence on Monday on the reported deadly beating of an imprisoned Kurdish juvenile by Iranian security forces after inmates tried to break out of a prison in fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel Zeinolabedini, 17, was confirmed dead on March 31 after suffering two days of abuse by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) at two separate prisons in the Kurdish region of western Iran, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Monday.
A relative of Zeinolabedini who spoke to KHRN said the 17-year-old was tortured alongside at least ten other inmates at Mahabad Prison for 48 hours by the IRGC guards for "trying to escape from the prison" with fellow inmates.
Upon hearing news of a riot through phone calls made by an inmate at the prison to several families at 2:30 am on Sunday morning, relatives rushed to the prison’s perimeter, the relative who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons said.
Relatives were quickly forced to move from the scene by IRGC forces, the source said, but not before smoke could be seen and screams and heard from inside the prison.
Zeinolabedini’s relative told KHRN that "a large number of security forces and plainclothes personnel, mostly members of the IRGC's local forces, were stationed in front of the prison and blocked all major roads leading to the prison."
Zeinolabedini and 10 other inmates were placed in solitary confinement after the riots, then moved to Miandoab prison in Urmia, Western Azerbaijan. He was killed at Miandoab, a number of its prisoners told the source.
When his body was retrieved from the morgue, the relative said Zeinolabedini's "mouth and nose were bloody” and “all of his limbs were bruised from beating."
"We were threatened that no photograph or film should be taken of the body under any circumstances," he added. "For the past two days, all of Daniel's close relatives have been threatened by security forces to not speak to the media on the matter."
Iran is the Middle Eastern country currently hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with health authorities confirming 60,500 cases and 3,739 deaths by Monday afternoon.
To date, some 100,000 inmates have been granted furlough from prison in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to Iranian judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi.
But the estimated 140,000 inmates who remain jailed have rioted at several prisons across the country to demand early release from still overcrowded detention facilities.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had already condemned Zeinolabedini’s mistreatment upon earlier reports of his death.
“We are horrified at the death of a juvenile offender after he was reportedly badly beaten by security officers,” UN spokesperson Rupert Colville said on Friday. "The prisoners were protesting at prison conditions and the failure of the authorities to temporarily release them amid the COVID-19 pandemic."
"We remind Iran of its heightened duty to protect the lives of individuals in detention. We call on the Iranian authorities to immediately conduct an independent and impartial investigation into Zeinolabedini's death and hold those responsible to account," the statement added.
The UN Special Rapporteur on March 10 criticized Iran’s continued detention of political prisoners, calling for a permanent end to their “unfortunate and disturbing” captivity amid the coronavirus outbreak. Some political prisoners have since been released.
Daniel Zeinolabedini, 17, was confirmed dead on March 31 after suffering two days of abuse by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) at two separate prisons in the Kurdish region of western Iran, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Monday.
A relative of Zeinolabedini who spoke to KHRN said the 17-year-old was tortured alongside at least ten other inmates at Mahabad Prison for 48 hours by the IRGC guards for "trying to escape from the prison" with fellow inmates.
Upon hearing news of a riot through phone calls made by an inmate at the prison to several families at 2:30 am on Sunday morning, relatives rushed to the prison’s perimeter, the relative who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons said.
Relatives were quickly forced to move from the scene by IRGC forces, the source said, but not before smoke could be seen and screams and heard from inside the prison.
Zeinolabedini’s relative told KHRN that "a large number of security forces and plainclothes personnel, mostly members of the IRGC's local forces, were stationed in front of the prison and blocked all major roads leading to the prison."
Zeinolabedini and 10 other inmates were placed in solitary confinement after the riots, then moved to Miandoab prison in Urmia, Western Azerbaijan. He was killed at Miandoab, a number of its prisoners told the source.
When his body was retrieved from the morgue, the relative said Zeinolabedini's "mouth and nose were bloody” and “all of his limbs were bruised from beating."
"We were threatened that no photograph or film should be taken of the body under any circumstances," he added. "For the past two days, all of Daniel's close relatives have been threatened by security forces to not speak to the media on the matter."
Iran is the Middle Eastern country currently hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with health authorities confirming 60,500 cases and 3,739 deaths by Monday afternoon.
To date, some 100,000 inmates have been granted furlough from prison in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to Iranian judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi.
But the estimated 140,000 inmates who remain jailed have rioted at several prisons across the country to demand early release from still overcrowded detention facilities.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had already condemned Zeinolabedini’s mistreatment upon earlier reports of his death.
“We are horrified at the death of a juvenile offender after he was reportedly badly beaten by security officers,” UN spokesperson Rupert Colville said on Friday. "The prisoners were protesting at prison conditions and the failure of the authorities to temporarily release them amid the COVID-19 pandemic."
"We remind Iran of its heightened duty to protect the lives of individuals in detention. We call on the Iranian authorities to immediately conduct an independent and impartial investigation into Zeinolabedini's death and hold those responsible to account," the statement added.
The UN Special Rapporteur on March 10 criticized Iran’s continued detention of political prisoners, calling for a permanent end to their “unfortunate and disturbing” captivity amid the coronavirus outbreak. Some political prisoners have since been released.
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