Death of Afshin Osanloo in the Iranian Prison

Once again one of the political prisoners died in prison after years of torture and harsh conditions which exist in the notorious Rejaishahr prison in Iran. Afhsin Osanloo, brother of Mansoor Osanloo, the ex-bus drivers's syndicate director who according to a letter he sent from the prison was brutally tortured, died in hospital of an aparant heart attack.

In the letter, which was smuggled out of prison by one of Afshin's cellmates and read over the phone to the spokeperson of Free Political Prisoners' Campaign, Shiva Mahboobi, Afshin spoke of  flogging by cables, while being forced to walk with wounded feet and many other forms of brutal tortures. He spoke of broken ribs and teeth and the sufferings while he was refused visits by his wife and sons and his old mother. He requested the letter to be sent to the human rights organisations.

While Mansoor Osanloo fled Iran after release from years in prison, his brother Afshin remained inside to die of a slow death. Death of Afshin Osanloo in prison once again raises the issue of widespread of abuse of human rights in the Iranian prisons. 

Now that Iran has a new president, the world and specially human rights organisations are holding their breath to see what steps will he take to ease the freedoms of people. Will he  free all political and ideological prisoners and bring to justice those who had committed so many crimes against civil activists? Will he allow UN Speciall Raporteur to travel to Iran and investigate the human rights situation in the past and present? We will wait to see whether the death of Afhin Osanloo and many other deaths in prisons will ever be investigated and the perpetrators will face justice.

Campaign to Free Political prisoners has published the following:

To view Afshin Osanloo's letter, press on the link below.

http://wp.me/p2MzA7-2i

To read about the situation in the Rejaishahr prison press the links below.

http://tinyurl.com/bskh927 

http://wp.me/p2MzA7-7B