Iranian parliament has been urged to probe into the situation of Iranian prisons and the situation of political prisoners in a letter from prisoners’ families addressed to the parliament’s National Security Commission.
“Indifference to the lives of citizens persists, especially to the most oppressed ones who are currently in chain,” Kaleme opposition website quotes the letter; “and the parliament, as the pulse of the society, is locked in a hard shell of numbness and apathy which is in turn triggering deep rage amongst voters.”
The letter calls on the Commission to assign a panel to investigate the “true situation” of Iranian prisons and detention centres and present it to parliament before Ahmad Ashaheed, recently appointed United Nationals Human Rights Rapporteur for Iran, travels to Iran.
They also note that the panel must also include a number of reformists MPs to avoid “false reports.”
The signatories add that they have tried several times to meet with judiciary officials and the head of parliament, Ali Larijani but have received no response.
They add that now, two years after the controversial presidential elections of 2009, many “truths” have been revealed that attest to the “legitimacy” of the allegations made by the post-election detainees.
Thousands of Iranians were arrested in the protests that followed the disputed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. Many of these detainees in the course of the past two years have reported inadequate conditions and being subjected to abuse and torture by prison authorities.
Iranian judiciary has adamantly denied the allegations.
