Iran: Prison guards in Iran are encouraging rape by giving condoms to criminals. A series of letters by the imprisoned activists claim that authorities are using rape activity as a form of punishment, says the British Daily 'Guardian.'
"In various cells inside the prison, rape has become a common act and acceptable," says Mehdi Mahmoudian, member of Iran’s Participation Front. According to him and letters published on various opposition websites, political prisoners are locked up with some of the most dangerous criminals – murderers and ex-members of armed gangs.
Mohsen Aminzadeh, a senior deputy foreign minister, Mohsen Mirdamadi, a leader of a reformist party and Behzad Nabavi, a veteran activist are among those who put their signatures on the letter written by 26 prominent political activists who have been in jail since 2009, accusing the government’s intelligence and revolutionary guards of harassing inmates with unlawful tactics including sexual assault.
According to Mahmoudian, who has been transferred to a solitary confinement after his letter attracted attention, one young prisoner was raped seven times in a single night. "In [Rajaeeshahr] prison, those who have pretty faces and are unable to defend themselves or cannot afford to bribe others are forcibly taken to different cells each night [to be raped]," he writes.
"The situation is such that those exposed to rape even have an owner and that owner makes money by renting him out to others and after a while selling him to someone else." The family members of one of the victims say prison guards are turning a blind eye to the systematic rape and have ignored complaints made by rape victims.
For protecting the honour of the family, the rape victims in Iran usually stay quiet. Their letters have become the only sources of information due to the strict restrictions faced by the journalists. Iranian officials have ignored the allegations and have previously denied any claims of rape inside jail.
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