Kurdish prisoner Javid Halimian, who has been imprisoned for five years, was beaten on the morning of 15 March by Mohammad-Amin Seyfzadeh, the head of Ward 4 of Orumiyeh Central Prison, during a routine inspection on the pretext of failing to fold his blanket, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
Seyfzadeh insulted Halimian for not folding his blanket properly, and beat the prisoner when he objected to the insult.
An hour later, on the orders of Mehdi Fatemi, the prison’s internal manager, Halimian was moved to the prison’s main hall, where both officials beat him again.
Prison authorities have warned inmates that any form of protest will be met with batons and physical violence, the KHRN has learned.
Halimian was initially sentenced to death on drug-related charges, but his sentence was later commuted to 30 years in prison with additional restrictions on his basic rights.
The incident comes a year after more than 800 prisoners at Orumiyeh Central Prison signed an open letter calling for the removal of the facility’s director, Peyman Khanzadeh.
The letter, signed in March 2024, accused prison officials of mistreating inmates and their families, abuses that led to several suicides among prisoners.
