Locked Up in Karaj

Spotlight on Political Prisoners in One Iranian City

Several dozen prisoners held in Karaj, west of Tehran, are serving prison terms for exercising their basic rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

HRW’s 59-page report, “Locked Up in Karaj: Spotlight on Political Prisoners in One City,” is based on a review of 189 cases in three prisons in the city of Karaj, including the charges they faced, details of their trials before revolutionary courts, and information from lawyers, prisoners’ families, and others. Human Rights Watch concluded that in 63 of these cases, authorities had arrested the prisoners, and revolutionary courts had convicted and sentenced them, solely because they exercised fundamental rights such as free speech and rights to peaceful assembly or association.

“The election of a new, avowedly moderate president a year ago raised hopes that many of Iran’s political prisoners would soon walk free, but many remain behind bars,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The lion’s share of responsibility for releasing these prisoners rests with the judiciary, but President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet should be doing more to press for their release.”

To read HRW’s report on political prisoners in Karaj, please click here.

Photo credit: Clockwise from top left: Loghman Moradian, Zaniar Moradian, Kourosh Ziari, Masoud Bastani, Mohammad Ali (Pirouz) Mansouri, Saeed Rezaei. (HRW/© Private)