On the evening of Tuesday, November 2, an inmate was brutally beaten to death by officers in Sanandaj Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, 26-year-old Khosro Jamalifar, who had previously been indicted on a murder charge and was awaiting the verdict, died from a strike to the head sustained during the beating.

The incident broke out after Jamalifar became involved in a quarrel with a fellow inmate in the quarantine section of Sanandaj.

Thereafter, as an informed source told HRANA, “Prison officers began to beat him with batons which led to his death. In this incident, the failure of the prison nurse, named Abdollahi, to send (Jamalifar) to the healthcare center in a timely manner also played a role in his death.”

In the aftermath of Jamalifar’s killing, Sanandaj inmates are calling for authorities to take accountability and conduct a real investigation.

“Since there are many CCTV cameras in corridors, the prisoners demand from the Prison organization and judiciary authorities to investigate the incident,” the informed source said. “However, until now, they have not received any response and the prison is at a high-security level.”

Iran’s prisons are notorious for their frequent incidents of brutality from authorities.  Acts of violence such as this one are at serious odds with the basic responsibility of prisons to provide for the safety and health of their inmates.  Institutions’ reluctance to conduct thorough investigations into acts of violence from their officials only perpetuates, and often even reinforces, a culture of abuse within Iran’s carceral system.