UPDATED Iran Feature: Inside Rajai Shahr Prison (Bijnen)

UPDATE 1725 GMT: Human Rights and Democracy in Iran has posted the letter from Saeed Masouri on conditions inside Rajai Shahr.

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Loes Bijnen writes a guest feature for EA:

When I recently read that seven leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran were transferred from the Evin Prison in Tehran to the Rajaï Shahr Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, my heart forgot to beat for a moment. Do these innocent people have to remain there for twenty years? Amid murderers and rapists? And finally die there?

In the summer of 2005 I wrote an article for Rooz Online about the fate of political prisoners in Rajaï Shahr . I did this at the request of an Iranian contact in the US who urgently wanted to draw attention to some of his friends who were detained in that infamous prison. They were in a bad state, and the circumstances under which these political prisoners, some of them older than 50, were held were said to be gruesome. My acquaintance in the US was in direct contact with one of them, Arjang Davoudi, and he sent me information that came directly from the Rajaï Shahr.

Iran Witness: Political Prisoner Arjang Davoudi From Evin on Human Rights (2008)

I wrote in 2005:

Rajai Shahr is the place where political prisoners who are seen as a nuisance, are stowed away. Going to Karaj is a severe punishment. Once in there one stops to be a human being. One is put out of sight, even of human rights activists and the press. In Rajaï Shahr, political prisoners have to share cells with dangerous criminals like murderers, rapists and drug addicts who don?t hesitate to attack their cell mates. They have nothing to lose: many of them are condemned to death anyway. Murders or unexplained deaths are a regular occurrence.

Two of the detainees I noted were Arjang Davoudi and Amir Saran. Davoudi, an engineer, teacher and poet, was abducted in 2003 and condemned in 2005 by a Revolutionary Court to 15 years in jail, exile to a harsh climate, five years suspension of his civil rights, and 70 lashes of the whip. He spent 100 days in solitary confinement in the Rajaï Shahr prison and was severely tortured. Later he was exiled to the Bandar Abbas prison in the hot south of Iran. [Editor's Note: Davoudi is again in Rajaï Shahr where he reportedly is in critical condition after a hunger strikie of more than 50 days. A new court case against him is being pursued.]

And Amir Saran? In March 2009, he died of a stroke in the gruesome conditions of Rajai Shahr.

Since my piece in 2005 the situation in Iran has worsened. Hundreds if not thousands of innocent Iranians spend their days in prisons in solitary confinement. They are being interrogated for long periods day and night until they are broken down and will sign any document.

However, this reality does not seem to reach the world media. A letter from a prisoner with a life sentence was recently smuggled out of Rajai Shahr:

I want to paint a picture of Rajai Shahr prison. Though large in the eyes of the citizens of Karaj, in reality it is a very small prison because of overcrowding. This is a different world, much like the Hell depicted in movies, full of fire and smoke. A world filled with burnt, black, dishevelled faces, naked bodies covered with sweat and red marks from the sting of lice. A world filled with torn trousers, scraps of which are used as belts; bare and filthy feet; clothes worn inside out and covered with lice; torn, mismatched slippers. A world in which you are exposed to polluted air, the extreme smell of putrid waste, overflowing sewage from toilets, the toxicity of dry vomit, infectious phlegm, and the body odour from bodies in close proximity, rarely given the opportunity to bathe --- all coming to a climax with the smell of urine by those who are unable to control themselves.

All this against the backdrop of the tremendous uproar and cries of prisoners who seem to spend their entire day in lines. Prisoners standing in lines holding plastic bottles that have turned black and serve as tea cups; standing in multiple, long, packed lines to use a bathroom, to take a shower.

It is in this prison that an internationally prominent journalist, Isa Saharkhiz, one of my own acquaintances, has to spend his days. Even more incomprehensible is that seven innocent, civilised and highly-educated Bahá'í leaders have been brought to Rajaï Shahr. They are the voice in Iran of the most peace-loving religion in the world.

How long will they survive there?

What can the world community do to rescue these political prisoners and hundreds of others from the dungeons in Evin in Tehran, Adel Abad in Shiraz, Vakil Abad in Mashhad, Karoun in Ahvaz, Dastgerd in Isfahan, and other, often secret, prisons? Speak out, of course. But first of all the international media has to be awakened. With a SCREAM.

I look at Le Monde, The Washington Post and The New York Times, at El Pais, The Zürcher and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and at NRC Handelsblad. I look at Obama, at Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. And also at [Dutch Foreign Minister] Maxime Verhagen. Help the Bahá'ís and all the other hundreds of innocent prisoners in Iranian prisons.

The Latest from Iran (1 September): The Threat of Stoning

1750 GMT: Repression. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has issued a new statement, "Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran are continuing to arrest and jail civil society activists while persecuting and prosecuting independent lawyers."

“With a majority of Iranian human rights activists and lawyers already imprisoned or forced into exile, their remaining colleagues are systematically being taken down by the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” Aaron Rhodes, a Campaign spokesperson said.

1740 GMT: At the Movies. Esteemed director Jafar Panahi, who was detained for three months earlier this year, has been barred by Iran authorities from attending the Venice Film Festival.

Panahi's short film "Accordion" is showing at the event, but he claims he has officially been banned from making movies for five years. He says, ""Despite having been released, I am still not free to travel outside my country to attend film festivals. When a filmmaker is not allowed to make films, it is as if his mind was still imprisoned. Maybe he is not locked up in a small cell, but he keeps wandering in a much bigger jail."

NEW Iran Special: Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights (Shahryar)
Iran: Ahmadinejad’s Trash Talk (Theodoulou)
Iran Witness: Activist Mahboubeh Karami on Six Months in Detention
Iran: The Latest on the Karroubi “Siege” and the Qods Day Rally
The Latest from Iran (31 August): Unity? What Unity?

1515 GMT: Karroubi Watch. In a meeting with clerics and students of Qom, Mehdi Karroubi has said the intrusion of some security and intelligence forces in hawzah (religious circles) is "very alarming".

1500 GMT: Economy Watch. Conservative MP Ali Motahari, a member of Parliament's Communications Commission, has issued a warning over privatisation: "We oppose any kind of monopoly in the (tele)communications sector."

Khabar Online reports an extensive reshuffle of officials in Iran's national oil company is on the way, concluding that the move is "not sensible at all".

An EA correspondent reads the report as a warning of consolidation of power by Ahmadinejad allies.

1440 GMT: Today's We-Are-Not-Scared-at-All Message. Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi has declared, "If people stage a riot or coup, we must stop them with security forces."

1425 GMT: Another Slap at Ahmadinejad's Foreign Policy. Hossein Sobhani-Nia, a member of the National Security Council, has repeated the Supreme Leader's criticism of the President's appointment of four special representatives for international matters.

Sobhani-Nia declared that Ayatollah Khamenei had said that the Foreign Ministry's position should not be damaged. He emphasised that, for unity in foreign policy and in accordance with the Constitution, all decisions must be made by the Foreign Ministry. Parallel organisations should not stop that and division in foreign policy should not prevent Iran from reaching its goals.

1415 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Teacher's union activist Mokhtar Asadi has been released on bail after two months in detention.

1400 GMT: The Karrroubis Fight the Siege. Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi, has written to the Supreme Leader to condemn the attacks on her home and family by pro-regimes crowds.

Fatemeh Karroubi asks the Leader: “What do the disagreements between you and my husband over issues, that are evident to all by now, have to do with our right to live?”

She pulls no punches as she describes the crowd chanting “derogatory words” against Mehdi Karroubi and “writing slogans on the walls of the residential complex and the neighbours' houses": “These obvious crimes are taking place with your support and in front of the security forces who do not dare to approach these attackers.”

So, noting the policy of “attacking the family and neighbours of political opponents”, Fatemeh Karroubi asks Ayatollah Khamenei if he condones such “unethical acts".

1350 GMT: Claim of the Day. From the Supreme Leader's representative to the Revolutionary Guards, Mojtaba Zolnour: "Israel is out to kill the hidden (12th) Imam."

1345 GMT: Academic Corner. Minister of Science Kamran Daneshjoo, who threatened universities with "destruction" if they were not Islamic enough, now wants a referendum on their fate.

Iranian authorities have "retired" almost 20 senior officials at universities in recent months.

0920 GMT: A Break in Service for Birthdays and Monkeys. It is Ms EA's birthday today, and we're celebrating by going to Monkey Forest --- yes, really.

I'll be away until late afternoon but, as usual, I know I can rely on EA's top-flight readers to bring in the latest news and analysis.

0825 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Mojgan Ebadi and Nasim Rouhi, both of the Baha'i community, have been re-arrested 24 hours after their release from prison.

RAHANA also reports that more activists have been detained in northern Khuzestan in western Iran.

0815 GMT: The Next Campaign? International attention to the case of 18-year-old Ebrahim Hamidi, sentenced to death for sodomy, is growing. Writers Philippe Besson and Gilles Leroy organised an open letter by French activists, publicised by Le Monde last week.

0715 GMT: If You Don't Accept Stoning, You are a Prostitute (cont.). The Foreign Ministry may have told off "hard-line" media for calling Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a "prostitute" after she criticised the death sentence handed down to Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani; however, the message does not seem to have gotten through.

Iran Newspaper on Network (INN), citing British reports of Bruni's past affair with singer Mick Jagger, declares, "Western Media approved implicitly the fact that Carla Bruni is a prostitute". (The story has been reprinted in the almost surreal website www.barackobama.ir. More on this "news outlet" later in the week.)

0655 GMT: Sieges for Qods Day. Pro-regime crowds, who surrounded the home of Mehdi Karroubi on Sunday and Monday night, reportedly moved to the house of reformist politician and cleric Abdollah Nouri on Tuesday evening.

0650 GMT: Freedom of the Press? Daneshjoo News reports that several journalists of Nasim-e Bidari magazine were threatened and interrogated on Tuesday.

0645 GMT: On Air. RASA TV, the Internet-based opposition channel, is now broadcasting.

0605 GMT: Labour Front. Writing for In These Times, Kari Lyderson reports on the continuing repression of Iran's trade unionists, specifically members of the Vahed Bus Workers Syndicate.

0600 GMT: We have posted a special feature by Josh Shahryar, reflecting on the reaction to his speech at last Saturday's rally in Washington against stoning, "Thoughts on Protest, Stoning, and Human Rights".

0500 GMT: We noted earlier this week how the controversy had grown over the death sentence for adultery --- initially to be carried out by stoning, though that has been suspended --- handed down on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani; indeed, the Iranian Government was now appearing very unsettled by the reaction.

Although one website supporting the Government has tried to deflect the issue with the question, "Does the West Want a Real Discussion with Iran?", it is unlikely to disappear. There are reports of two other people condemned to die by stoning. Yesterday Ashtiani's son Sajad said his mother was subjected to a "mock execution", told last Saturday that she was to be hanged at dawn on Sunday.

Ashtiani wrote her will and embraced her cellmates in Tabriz Prison just before the call to morning prayer, but nothing happened as she waited. Sajad Ashtiani said, "Pressure from the international community has so far stopped them from carrying out the sentence but they're killing her every day by any means possible."

Sajad Ashtiani added that he had been told by Iranian authorities that the file on his father's murder case had been lost. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, first convicted of adultery, was later found guilty of complicity in the homicide.