Letters written by prisoners in Iran make for startling disclosures—namely that prison guards are handing out condoms to criminals, encouraging them to rape opposition activists.These shocking revelations about the mass rapes were reported by the Guardian in letters smuggled out by Mehdi Mahmoudian, a jailed member of Iran’s Participation Front, a reformist political party.
Mr. Mahmoudian was detained after the disputed elections in 2009 for speaking about his party’s suppression by the government and was jailed in Rajaeeshahr prison in Kajar, 20 kilometers away from the capital Tehran.
“In various cells inside the prison, rape has become a common act and acceptable,” he wrote in a letter published on Kaleme.com, the official Website of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, writes the Guardian.
The accounts collected show that political prisoners are being locked up with dangerous criminals. Families of political prisoners have told an opposition Website Jaras that prison guards fail to protect them from abuse.
“During exercise periods, the strong ask for sex without any consideration. Criminals are repeatedly seen with condoms in hand, hunting for their victims,” the Guardian reports an unnamed family member telling Jaras.
“If the inmate is not powerful enough or guards would not take care of him, he will be certainly raped. Prison guards ignore those who are seen with condoms simply because they were given out to them by the guards at first place,” the family member said.
Iranian officials have ignored the allegations and have previously denied any claims of rape inside jail.
The family members also said that jail authorities ignore complaints of rape.
In related news, 26 political activists who have been imprisoned since the 2009 elections have written to a prison monitoring body about harassment tactics, including sexual assaults, of prisoners by guards and intelligence officials.
The letter was also signed by senior deputy foreign minister Mohsen Mirdamadi, a reformist party leader and Behzad Nabavi, a veteran activist.
Amnesty International has asked Iran to investigate these accusations after interviewing rape victims inside Iranian jails for its annual report last year.
Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s Middle East campaign manager, told the Guardian: “Rape is a terrible crime and these allegations [mentioned in the letters] should be thoroughly investigated. Amnesty International has also documented the rape of male and female detainees by security officials. Many of those detained for taking part in post-election protests were tortured and did not receive fair trials. The Iranian authorities still continue to punish and persecute those who peacefully speak up against them.”
Mr. Mahmoudian, who was transferred to solitary confinement after his letter attracted attention, said he came to know of one young prisoner being raped seven times in one night.
“In [Rajaeeshahr] prison, those who have pretty faces and are unable to defend themselves or cannot afford to bribe others are forcibly taken to different cells each night [to be raped],” he wrote in the letter.
“The situation is such that those exposed to rape even have an owner and that owner makes money by renting him out to others and after a while selling him to someone else.”
Al Arabiya News
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