Five foreign prisoners from the countries of Azerbaijan, Chechnya and Iraq, who were convicted on charges of membership in extremist Islamist groups, after being transferred to the political prisoner’s ward in Rajai Shahr prison (Saloon 10, section 4), attacked a group of political prisoners.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, on Sunday, July 29th, 2018, a severe clash in Rajai Shahr Prison led to the wounding of several political prisoners, including Saeed Shirzad, Houshang Rezaie, Arash Sadeghi and Zanyar Moradi. Following this attack, Saeed Shirzad’ right hand was fractured, Loghman Moradi’s feet and ankles were damaged and Arash Sadeghi’s back was injured and other prisoners were injured.
The clash started about 15 minutes after Salehof, a member of the extremist Islamist group from the Republic of Azerbaijan, put a sharp object to Houshan Rezaie’s throught, a political prisoner who was sentenced to death and said, “You are non-believers and pouring your blood is allowed”. As other political prisoners tried to rescue Houshang Rezaie, other prisoners attributed to the membership in the group attacked the prisoners with bricks and bars. As a result of these attacks, Saeed Shirzad, Houshang Rezaie, Arash Sadeghi and Zanyar Moradi were severely injured along with other prisoners.
With the involvement of prison security forces, the conflict ended and political prisoners were transferred to the cell, but medical treatment was refused and injured prisoners were left untreated. Saeed Shirzad is said to be suffering from fractures on his right hand.
Salehof is the prisoner who initiated the conflict. He is a strong man with 195-centimeter height and weighed 150 kg, who was specially trained and is a dangerous member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the so-called “ISIS” group.
It is worth noting that in the past weeks, one of the members of the extremist Islamic group attacked Ibrahim Firoozi and said that “because you are Muslim and converted to Christianity, killing you is impunible.”
Previously, threating the political prisoners by prison authorities using the perpetrators of dangerous criminals in prison has happened, and this method is one of the methods of putting pressure on political prisoners in Rajai Shahr and other prisons of the Islamic Republic.
Some of the dangerous prisoners are protected by various prison authorities in various ways, so that they can be used against political prisoners when necessary.
This issue, in Rajai Shahr and Urumia prisons, has made these prisons one of the most dangerous jails in Iran.