Iranian Official: Two Evin Prison Guards Punished Even before Footages Leaked

Head of Iran’s Prisons Organization Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi said that two guards of Tehran’s Evin prison who had done violations had been punished two months before hackers released a relevant video obtained from surveillance cameras.

“Many of the wrongdoings in Evin Prison videos were either being investigated or investigated prior to their release. Anger, however, is not uncommon even in less stressful environments than in prison; but the two law-breakers in the images below, who had quarreled with each other, were punished two months before the videos were released,” Hajmohammadi wrote on his twitter page.

He also released a letter in his tweet that shows the date of Tir 7, 1400 on the Persian calendar (June 28, 2021), that entailed orders for the punishment of the two guards.

Last month, a hacking group calling itself Edalat-e Ali posted on social media the videos that appear to be from Evin prison’s surveillance cameras and show guards beating prisoners and dragging an inmate on the floor.

The videos also showed two prison guards clashing with each other.

After the leakage of the videos, Hajmohammadi apologized for unacceptable behavior in Tehran’s Evin prison after videos obtained from surveillance cameras and released by hackers showed abuse of a few inmates.

“Regarding the images from Evin prison, I acknowledge responsibility for such unacceptable behavior and pledge to try to prevent any repeat of these bitter incidents and to deal seriously with the wrongdoers,” Hajmohammadi wrote on his twitter page.

“I apologize to God Almighty, our dear leader (Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei), the nation, and honorable prison guards, whose efforts will not be ignored due to these mistakes,” he said.

The Iranian Judiciary announced late in August that the culprits behind the abuse of prisoners in Evin prison in Tehran have been identified and prosecuted.

“The scenes seen in the released footages are against the law and cannot be justified at all,” Judiciary Spokesman Zabihollah Khodayian told reporters, referring to the footages leaked from Evin prison which showed mistreatment of a number of prisoners by guards.

“The Judiciary insists on dealing with the offenders, and the Judiciary Chief has instructed the Prosecutor General to follow up on this issue, and he also entrusted a team with the job and the team was in Evin prison for three days and investigated the issue,” he added.

“As a result of investigations, 6 people were identified, 4 people were summoned to the military prosecutor’s office and 2 people were summoned to the public prosecutor,” Khodayian said, adding that all the 6 are either under detention or released on a proper bail.

Also in August, First Deputy Head of Iran’s Judiciary Mohammad Mosaddeq underlined the legal body’s seriousness in investigating abuse of inmates at Tehran’s Evin prison by guards, saying that the culprits will be punished.

“In a meeting with the judiciary chief yesterday afternoon, the prosecutor general was ordered to investigate the issue and report the results immediately,” Mosaddeq said.

“On the other hand, the judiciary chief emphasized and declared yesterday that the Judiciary is determined that if anyone inside the prison violates the rules against the accused and the convict, it will be dealt with one hundred percent,” he added.

Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i ordered Prosecutor General Mohammad Ja’far Montazeri to rapidly probe into the case of mistreatment of inmates by Evin prison’s guards.

“Given the reports and images released by certain media of Evin prison, you will be entrusted with the task to conduct a comprehensive investigation, without delay, into the mentioned issue and the behavior of the guards with the prisoner or among prisoners rapidly and precisely and report the results to me,” Mohseni Eje’i said in his message to Montazeri.