On the eve of the February 1979 revolution, the construction of a prison on the outskirts of the capital was completed. This prison was ready for operation and launch in Mehr month of 1361 (2). Four decades later, Hamid Sefat, a famous rapper and singer, after the end of his imprisonment and release, released a song in which he called this prison “The Wonders of the City”. The prison, initially named “Gohardasht” due to its location in the Gohardasht area of Karaj, later became known as “Rajai Shahr”. This prison has been a place of detention, imprisonment, and execution of many suspects, including political and ideological opponents of the Islamic Republic, since the 1960s until now. It is now known as the most famous prison in Iran after Evin Prison.

Gohardasht or Rajai Shahr, in the 1960s, during the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1967, was the site of execution and torture of many political and ideological prisoners in Iran. This practice continues to this day, and the largest execution of ideological prisoners after the 1967 massacre took place in August 2016, with the execution of 25 Sunni ideological prisoners. (2) Rajai Shahr Prison has been the detention center for political and ideological prisoners since before the protests after the June 2009 elections, and during various social uprisings and last year’s protest movement. It also has a high number of executions (compared to other prisons in the country) in Iran. However, this prison, with such a history, is in danger of either being turned into a “desired museum” by the rulers (like the prison of the Joint Committee before the revolution and Tohid after the revolution, which has now become

The head of the judicial branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced in the month of Farvardin of this year that “Rajai Shahr prison, located in the city of Karaj, must be relocated outside the city as soon as possible and its current location should be removed from the status of a prison and appropriate actions should be taken in regards to it.” (3) In Tir month of last year, the governor of Alborz province had explicitly stated that he had received permission to sell the land and properties of Rajai Shahr prison. (4) This relocation, however, had been denied by the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s parliament in 1396, before Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei took office as the head of the judicial branch. Mohammad Javad Kolivand, the representative of the parliament at the time, had said that “Rajai Shahr prison will not be relocated.” (5)

The question is: Will Rajaei Shahr finally be relocated? If yes, where to? What is the fate of the prisoners and their families who come to visit their loved ones? Do they have to travel more than 30 kilometers from the city, like in Tehran, to be able to visit their imprisoned family members for a short period of time? What is the responsibility of the parliament in this matter? The parliament member of the 11th Judicial Commission apologized to the people for the release of videos of prisoners being mistreated in Evin Prison in September 1401. Does Mehdi Bagheri, the member of the 11th Judicial Commission, apologize because they have a responsibility in this matter?

To address these questions and concerns, the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” has had a conversation with Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, the head of the National Security Commission in the ninth parliament and a member of the Judiciary Commission in the tenth parliament of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. According to this former representative of the parliament, who also has a military background in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the issue of prison transfers is essentially a physical matter and has no connection to the judicial sphere or its relevant commission in the parliament. He has stated to Khat-e-Solh regarding the issue of prison transfers that it is “not a significant and fundamental matter for the Judiciary Commission” and it is not important enough for the commission to show sensitivity and have an opinion on it.

According to Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, these relocations are usually due to circumstances and situations, and the judiciary itself investigates and determines them. He says that the reason could be a lack of space for prisoners or security concerns, and overall, this issue of relocating prisons is a managerial matter, not a judicial one. The point here is that this same Mr. Pourmokhtar said in another interview with Khat-e-Solh magazine that during the presidency of Mohseni Ejei, the issue of overcrowding in prisons was managed and the prison population decreased.

Pormokhtar speaks about peace: “The law for reducing the number of prisoners, which was approved in the Judiciary Committee and then amended in the Judiciary Power, has led to a significant decrease in the number of prisoners. On the other hand, pardons that are granted also contribute to the reduction of prisoners. More importantly, there is a constant emphasis on the Judiciary Power’s decrease in imprisonment and even detention of individuals, and serious monitoring is being implemented in this regard. As a result, it does not seem that we are still facing the same problems as before, such as overcrowding in prisons and its subsequent issues.”

It seems that there is a clear contradiction in Mr. Pourmokhtar’s statements. If the issue of the overcrowding of prisoners has been resolved, then what is the need for transferring prisons like Rajai Shahr? And if it has not been resolved, then why is the representative of the Islamic Republic’s parliament praising the current head of the judiciary? This is a question that remains unanswered in Pourmokhtar’s speech and cannot be answered.

Kouliound, another representative of the current parliament, had said in November 2017 that “Rajai Shahr prison will not be relocated because it is a government prison.” (5) We asked the same question to Pourmokhtar, who was in parliament at the same time as Mohammad Javad Kouliound. However, Pourmokhtar said in a peaceful tone that “all prisons are under the control of the government and there is no difference between them. The rest of the matter is up to the decision of the judiciary, which is responsible for managing the prisons.” Apparently, a former representative of the parliament believes that some prisons are “governmental” and possibly others are “non-governmental,” while another says that all prisons are government-run. Now, the question arises as to why Kouliound emphasized the “governmental” aspect, which is something that readers with sound minds should receive an answer to.

But there is a question in this matter. Now that the discussion of selling the land and properties of Rajai Shahr has been raised and the order of the head of the judiciary to relocate it, where is the new location of this prison and where will the current prisoners of Rajai Shahr be transferred to? A question that Pourmokhtar answers by saying “the location has not yet been determined.” According to him, if what happened to Qasr prison also happens to Rajai Shahr, this prison will be handed over to the municipality to be used for dual purposes such as a museum and a park. This is an action that, as mentioned before, has another narrative and meaning of erasing the historical memory of torture, harassment, execution, and violation of prisoners’ rights after the revolution.

Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar speaks about architecture, construction, and the structure of prisons in relation to peace: “Old prisons were built with the architecture and needs of that time. A prison that is to be built today, naturally, will be built with better facilities for prisoners and their families.” However, this claim does not match the reality of what is happening in Tehran’s Great Prison. The Tehran Great Prison was established in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, there were numerous waves of transferring prisoners from various prisons in Tehran, including Evin Prison, to this prison. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, this prison became a place for the imprisonment of many political and ideological prisoners. But this new prison, which according to Mr. Pourmokhtar should have been built with better facilities, still has many initial problems, including lack of hot water, hygiene products, and lack of access to heating equipment in the winter.

In the current situation of Tehran’s large prison, it is unclear how Mr. Pourmokhtar and his colleagues in the parliament, as well as the officials of the judiciary, think that the new prisons have better and more facilities.

Another issue is the discussion of the health status of prisoners and the comfort of their families in order to attend weekly visits in prison and carry out other legal or personal matters. Pourmokhtar claims that “it makes no difference to the prisoner and his family whether they are in Rajai Shahr or in another prison that will be determined later.” This statement is not consistent with evidence and it seems that Mr. Pourmokhtar is aware of the heart of all prisoners and their families.

He continued to talk about the distance of prisons such as Tehran Grande to the city and the presence of prisons such as Evin and Rajai Shahr inside the city, saying, “It is not reasonable to base decisions on these words. The only advantage of Evin prison is that it is located inside Tehran. Otherwise, there is no difference in terms of factors such as prison management and prisoner care among different prisons. Since all prisons are managed by the Prison Organization, supervised by the judiciary, and monitored by judges, there is no difference in this regard. The only issue is the distance and proximity to the city where families live, which is something that can be taken into consideration. Therefore, after making a decision, transportation facilities should be provided.”

It is important to emphasize that what actually happens reflects a significant difference between prison guards in old prisons such as Evin and Rajai Shahr and new prisons such as Greater Tehran, as well as between prisons in central provinces and those in border provinces and smaller cities. Additionally, in closed prisons in Iran, barbed wire fences are considered and placed, and the guards protecting and guarding them are armed.

Also, it should be asked that if considering the facilities for transportation, how come such facilities have not been provided for prisons like Tehran?

Pormokhtar, in response to the question of how the current problem of transportation for prisons located far from cities can be addressed, says: “In my opinion, when such a decision is made, a comprehensive and all-encompassing assessment is conducted, taking into account the interests, needs, conditions of prisoners, their families, and other issues. The decision is not made overnight, but rather it is a decision that is carefully studied and evaluated, and ultimately based on that. As for Rajaei Shahr, I believe this decision is made with planning and if implemented, it will achieve both the goals pursued by the judiciary and provide more comfort for prisoners and their families.”

Mr. Pourmokhtar, who holds a master’s degree in criminal law and criminology, knows and acknowledges in discussions of peace that “the responsibility for the health of prisoners lies with the prison organization and the judiciary, and the parliament oversees this matter.” However, he continues to say that “I have not seen the parliament interfere in matters such as the relocation and location of prisons. The judiciary itself, with its policies and the attention of the head of the judiciary, the prison organization, and relevant deputies such as the judicial deputy, are working towards reducing the number of prisoners by issuing alternative sentences and creating better conditions inside prisons so that no problems arise for the prisons.”

On October 2020, news of the arrest of Mohammad Ali Pourmokhtar, former representative of the parliament, by the country’s intelligence and security agencies, has been received. He himself says, “I have a legal case regarding the violations of a charity organization.” Whatever the case may be, it seems that it has not led to his imprisonment. Perhaps if Mr. Pourmokhtar himself had been transferred to one of the country’s prisons – as a prisoner, not as a responsible person – he would have a different opinion about these places today.

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Despite its geographical location in Alborz province, Rajai Shahr prison is under the supervision of the Tehran province prison organization. Rajai Shahr has a quarantine ward, followed by a guard tower and then the main entrance of the building. The office of the prison chief and the internal manager are located at the beginning of the building’s entrance. After that, there is a ground floor corridor where the offices of security, inspection, public relations, and other prison management units are located. The prison infirmary is also a building next to the visitation building and between ward 1 and ward 9, which is used as an infirmary on the ground floor and second floor of this building. The safe ward has a visitation hall and the prison’s information and inspection forces, although they are appointed by the general administration of the prison organization and are supposed to be somewhat independent from the prison chief, in practice, due to the special conditions of Rajai Shahr prison, these

Rajai Shahr Prison, with all its characteristics and features, has witnessed fourteen years of suffering, torture, pain, and execution of prisoners with various crimes, including political and religious prisoners. Now, they want to close this prison and transfer its prisoners to another place. In the world, prisons and places like this – which are evidence of widespread and systematic violation of human rights – are preserved so that future generations can be told what happened in this place and land, and they can learn a lesson from it. However, the Museum of Lessons in Iran is a cover-up of the history of torture and abuse of prisoners after the revolution until the end of the 1970s. The calamity that also befell Qasr Prison and turned it into a garden-museum, which is actually a place of forgetting the sufferings of prisoners after the revolution and during the Islamic Republic regime.

Apparently, this time the officials intend to systematically erase the historical memory of torture, harassment, and execution of prisoners in the Islamic Republic and for this reason, they have gone to Evin and Rajai Shahr, also known as the “City of Wonders”.

All of the prisons in Iran are wonders of cities that have seen many wonders and marvels. There should be an end point to this systematic erasure of the historical memory of human rights in Iran. This end point is not far away.

Notes:

1- Alavi, Shahed, Rajai Shahr prisoner; What we don’t know (part one), IranWire, 30 Tir 1398.

2- Execution of 25 prisoners; A look at Black Tuesday after one year, Hrana News Agency, 11 August 2017.

3- Head of Judiciary: Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj must be relocated outside the city as soon as possible, IRNA, April 8, 2023.

4- Alborz Governor: We have received permission to sell the land and properties of Rajaei Shahr and Qazal Hasar prisons, Imena, 9 Tir 1401.

5- Rajaei Prison will not be relocated, ISNA, November 7, 2017.

6- Tehran’s Great Prison; A report on the inappropriate conditions of detained protesters, Herana, 25 Dey month 1401.

7- Tehran’s Grand Prison; A report on the difficulties of sick prisoners in obtaining medical permits, Herana, 6 Farvardin 1402.

8- The reaction of the head of the 90th Parliament’s Commission to his arrest: I have a legal case regarding the violations of a charity organization, Radio Farda, October 18th, 2020.