Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Independently from one another, five prisoners held at Sanandaj Central Prison attempted suicide yesterday, resulting in one death and four hospitalizations.
The five prisoners attempted to take their own lives by ingesting pills and by hanging. One died, three were taken to the prison clinic, and one was admitted to an outside hospital. There is no evidence to suggest that their actions were coordinated or shared a common motive.
The deceased prisoner was identified as Iqbal Khusravi, 36, held at ward 6 of Sanandaj Central Prison. He was serving an eight-year sentence for drug-related crimes. The identities of the other prisoners have not been released.
A source at the prison stated, “At about 12:30 pm, Iqbal Khusravi consumed pills in an attempt to take his own life, which led to a cardiac arrest. In spite of the efforts of clinic officials, he passed away.”
He continued, “Some claims, so far unsubstantiated, have connected the suicide attempts to family problems and mistreatment of the prisoners by the presiding judge. These mistreatments included insults and verbal abuse and were extended to the family members of the prisoners.”
Last year, HRANA published a number of reports on the poor conditions of Sanandaj Prison and the mistreatment of the prisoners and their families by prison officials.