Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 6 May 2026: Recent reports indicate that prisoners at Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj are facing physical violence by prison personnel, as well as critical shortages of food and medical supplies. Prisoners including an Afghan national were beaten using polyethylene pipes, a situation exacerbated by the recent assignment of guards with documented records of violence to the ward. Furthermore, the status of numerous political prisoners detained in the prison remains uncertain.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, the use of polyethylene pipes, whose primary purpose is for water plumbing and which were previously used to beat prisoners in the solitary confinement cells of Ward 35 in Unit 3, has now spread to Unit 4 under the management of Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini, the former head of Unit 2 and current head of Unit 4.
An informed source told IHRNGO about a recent incident involving a guard named Ahmad Torkaman. Previously stationed in Unit 2 (wing designated for death row prisoners), Torkaman is known as “Ahmad Shemr”* amongst the prisoners due to his inhumane cruelty. On 4 May, his former superior, Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini, coordinated Torkaman’s transfer to Unit 4, where political prisoners are also held.
Sources report that immediately after his deployment to Hall 19, which houses foreign nationals, Torkaman severely assaulted an Afghan prisoner named Abdolahad Touran Inshallah. Acting in full view of hundreds of cellmates and directly in front of the security cameras, Torkaman beat the prisoner using a three-inch polyethylene pipe. The blows inflicted by these pipes are significantly more painful than those from the prison's standard whips, according to prisoners.
Prior to this, Unit 4 head Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini, alongside Mahmoud Alaei (head of Ward 20 and deputy head of the unit where political prisoners are housed in Hall 3), orchestrated the transfer of numerous supervisors and guards within Unit 4 and Ward 20. This reshuffle included appointing Seyed Nemat Hosseini as the principal guard officer at the main guard station (Zire Hasht) of Unit 4.
Shortage of Food and Medical Supplies
Further reports indicate that prisoners in Unit 3 are facing severe economic strain and restricted access to medical care. An informed source told IHRNGO: "A state of emergency has taken hold in this ward. The price of basic food items has skyrocketed, bringing the minimum cost of living for each prisoner to 7 million tomans (approx. 35 euros) per week. Even mineral water has become scarce, leaving prisoners in absolute destitution. The lack of medication, the complete disregard for prisoners' health, severe communication restrictions, and the denial of furlough have made conditions unbearable."
Drug Defendants: “We are victims of poverty”
Drug offenders, who live under the constant shadow of execution, make up a large portion of the population in Ghezelhesar Prison. Expressing deep despair over state-appointed lawyers who have abandoned them, these prisoners are speaking out about their dire situation.
One prisoner told IHRNGO: "We are not the root cause of addiction; we are the victims of unemployment and poor economic conditions. We were forced to gamble with our lives just to put bread on the table. We might not hold the same value to society as political prisoners, but we have families too. Long distances and exorbitant travel costs mean we cannot even see our loved ones. The shame we feel before our wives and children is worse than death."
Demanding that their voices be heard, these prisoners emphasise that the burden of providing for their families and facing starvation drove them down this path, leaving them trapped in a complete dead end.
In December 2025, IHRNGO published a report titled “A Village of Graves: Widespread and Systematic Executions in Iran” which documents the systematic violations of due process and fair trial rights in drug-related cases.
In 2025, after the dramatic increase in executions, authorities attempted to crackdown on campaigns to save death row prisoners. To do so, drug defendants were warned that they would face expedited executions if news of their cases leaked outside of prison walls. Yet, when six more prisoners were transferred to the pre-execution cells of Ghezelhesar Prison, drug death row prisoners in Ghezelhesar Prison chose to risk death for a chance to live. On 13 October 2025, more than 1500 drug death row defendants in Ward 2 of Ghezelhesar Prison went on a mass strike, sewing their lips, they sat defiantly in the ward’s common hall. For six days, they held their ground, refusing to back down despite so many reaching dangerous levels.
Relocation and Release of Several Political Prisoners
According to information received by IHRNGO, there have been recent developments regarding the detainees in Unit 3. A number of prisoners, who had been subjected to severe pressure in solitary confinement since 25 March, have finally been transferred to the general ward, and several of them were released from prison on 1 May.
Among those released was Vali Zoghitabar, the father of political prisoner Shahin Zoughitabar. He had been arrested on 29 March 2026 as a means to exert pressure on his son and was released from Unit 3 five days ago.
Conversely, the status of political prisoners like Mehdi Vafayi-Sani and Vahid Sorkh Gol remain uncertain. They were recently transferred from solitary confinement in Unit 3 to Unit 4, the designated political wing of Ghezelhesar Prison. Vahid is affiliated to monarchist groups. Mehdi was arrested for affiliation to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and is the paternal cousin of death row protester, Mohammad Javad Vafayi-Sani, who is currently at risk of execution in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison.
Currently, at least 19 prisoners of conscience are being held in Unit 4 of the prison.
* Translator’s Note: "Shemr" refers to a historical figure in Shia Islam who is infamous for his role in the Battle of Karbala. In modern culture, the name is used to describe an exceptionally merciless, brutal or sadistic individual.