Update: Return of seven Kurdish political prisoners to Orumieh’s central prison

(21 February 2012) – Last week, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center received reports that on Tuesday, February 14 seven Kurdish political prisoners were transferred from Section 12 of Orumieh’s central prison to an unknown location. Now, IHRDC has received reports that those prisoners were returned to Section 12 on Friday, February 17.

According to these reports, the political prisoners were held in solitary confinement in the jail of the Orumieh Intelligence Ministry branch. There, these prisoners were purportedly pressured by Intelligence Ministry officials to voice regret about their actions and make televised confessions on camera. Despite the pressure and threats they were subjected to, the prisoners did not concede. They were subsequently transferred back to Orumieh’s central prison on Friday.

This is just the latest report in a raft of reports indicating that security forces in Orumieh’s central prison and the intelligence branch of Orumieh frequently subject prisoners to extreme pressure. A few months ago, the reported pressures and threats culminated in a declaration from prison officials that Section 12 of the prison (where most political prisoners in the jail are typically held) would be closed.