Ahmad Zeidabadi Criticizes the Physical Confrontation with Political Activist Abdollah Momeni: Free Him!

"Prisoners in the Islamic Republic's jails typically interact with six types of forces. First, the prison staff, who are employees of the Prison Organization and have a bureaucratic and administrative mentality.

Second, the prison intelligence unit, whose job is to monitor the so-called 'illegal' activities of prisoners and counteract them.

Third, the security forces, who are primarily stationed in their designated sections but still oversee the behavior of political and security prisoners.

Fourth, the special prison guard, responsible for dealing with insecurity and riots within the prison, primarily intervening during disturbances inside the wards.

Fifth, the supervising judge of the prison, who handles the judicial matters of prisoners.

Sixth, the police unit stationed in the prison, which is part of the Law Enforcement Force and is responsible for the transfer and transportation of prisoners.

The police unit mainly consists of soldiers and conscript officers who fulfill their mandatory military service in the prison. These personnel typically do not receive adequate training on how to handle suspects and convicts and confront prisoners according to their own whims and attitudes.

Their conditions in the prison are truly lamentable. Their sleeping quarters are overcrowded, and their food is terrible, to the extent that they envy the low-quality food served to prisoners. I have heard from several of them that they are responsible for preparing their own meals, and because they lack financial means, they sometimes go hungry, especially if they are from out of town and cannot return home for a proper meal!

Some of these soldiers are unruly youths who cannot tolerate any complaints from prisoners regarding their behavior and are always ready to demonstrate their 'authority.'

Given the explanations provided about the physical confrontation with Abdollah Momeni upon his entry into the prison, it seems to me that the incident relates to the mischief of these youths, as they receive neither the necessary training nor recognize the dignity of any type of prisoner.

In any case, if the dignity of prisoners is to be respected, significant reforms are needed in all aspects related to prison management.

Finally, now that judicial authorities have stated that they have no insistence on taking Abdollah Momeni to prison due to his wife's health condition, there should be no obstacle to his immediate release. Therefore, free him."