Report of Severe Beating of Political Prisoner Hamzeh Darvish in Lakan Prison, Rasht

Breathing in Confinement, Friday, 7 August 2026: Hamzeh Darvish, a political prisoner held in Lakan Prison in Rasht, has reportedly been severely beaten by prison officials and a number of security personnel, an act that constitutes inhumane treatment and a serious violation of prisoners’ fundamental rights.

According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, following the release of an audio recording by Hamzeh Darvish from inside the prison, on the morning of Monday, 3 August, the head of prisons in Gilan Province, accompanied by the head of Lakan Prison, visited Hall 8, where Darvish was being held. The visit reportedly led to a verbal confrontation between the prison authorities and Hamzeh Darvish.

Several hours after the confrontation, a group of prison security and intelligence officers, accompanied by several soldiers, entered the room where he was being held and attempted to transfer him to an undisclosed location. Hamzeh Darvish resisted the transfer, after which the officers subjected him to a severe beating. His injuries were reportedly so serious that fellow prisoners had to carry him on a stretcher to the prison infirmary.

It has also been reported that Darvish’s personal belongings were removed from Hall 8, raising the possibility that he may be transferred to another ward or prison. This has further heightened concerns about his health and safety.

Hamzeh Darvish, a Sunni resident of Talesh, had released an audio recording one day before the incident, on 2 August, in which he criticised the conduct of officials within the Gilan Province Prisons Organisation and the management of Lakan Prison, raising allegations of mismanagement and violations of prisoners’ rights. It appears that the release of this recording may have prompted the subsequent violent treatment against him.

According to an informed source: “Hamzeh has had no contact whatsoever with his family since Sunday. His family have repeatedly contacted the prison, but officials have claimed that he is fine and does not wish to make contact. However, one of his fellow prisoners, who had been granted leave, contacted the family on Thursday evening and informed them that Hamzeh had been severely beaten on the direct orders of senior officials of the Gilan Province Prisons Organisation and Lakan Prison, and that he has been hospitalised in the prison infirmary ever since.”

The denial of contact with his family and the failure to provide transparent information regarding his physical condition raise serious concerns about violations of prisoners’ rights and the deprivation of their right to communicate with the outside world.

Hamzeh Darvish, 37, has been held in Lakan Prison in Rasht since 2020 and was previously sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. In earlier statements, he said that in 2014 he had been deceived by members of a fundamentalist group in Syria into travelling to Turkey and was subsequently taken to Syria. He spent a period in captivity under ISIS and, after receiving assurances of safe return from the Iranian Embassy in Turkey, returned to Iran and presented himself to the security authorities. Nevertheless, these circumstances were subsequently used as the basis for bringing criminal proceedings against him.

This case once again highlights serious concerns regarding the human rights situation in Iranian prisons, particularly the treatment of political and prisoners of conscience. The use of violence, denial of adequate medical treatment, and restrictions on communication with family are incompatible with Iran’s international human rights obligations and warrant urgent and independent investigation.