According to reports, the physical torture and sexual abuse of prisoners in cellblock 1 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj is ongoing.
On Monday, January 16, a prisoner identified as Mohsen Marzban, who was transferred to cellblock 1 from cellblock 6, protested the violent treatment of prisoners by prisoner agents in solitary cells. Prison agents then pulled him out of his solitary cell, tied his hands and feet, and violently tortured him with batons while kicking and punching him in front of his horrified inmates. After him, other prisoners identified as Javad Zare, Mehrdad Karimi, Sharbat Khosravi and Morad Ketabi who were transferred from cellblock 3 to cellblock 1 were also violently tortured in this way.
These prison guards were not satisfied with only physical torture and also forced these prisoners to take off their clothes and sexually abused them with batons in front of other prisoners. It is the first time that this method of degradation and sexual abuse has been carried out in front of other prisoners. Of course, this method has been carried out in this way for some time Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.
These violent actions and tortures are carried out under the orders of Ali Khadem who is the deputy head of Gohardasht Prison. They are carried out by the deputy and a number of other prison guards but the sexual abuse is personally carried out by Khadem.
Ali Khadem was the head of the Gohardasht Intelligence Unit before this but was demoted after raping a female prison guard who became pregnant. After Mohammad Mardani was appointed as the head of Gohardasht Prison, he appointed Khadem as the deputy of this prison. Ali Khadem who has worked in this prison for the past decades has killed a large number of prisoners under torture. He is also responsible for the smuggling of narcotics into prison and has acquired a lucrative profit in this way. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – Jan. 18, 2012)