Iranian Prisoner Serving Long-Term Sentence Commits Suicide

An Iranian inmate has taken his own life in a prison near Tehran, a human rights group reported. 

A source close to Hossein Jalali’s family said that he had been incarcerated in Ghezelhesar prison, according to the HRANA human rights news agency. 

Approximately seven months ago, Jalali began serving a 25-year sentence on drug-related charges. 

At least 32 inmates died in the Islamic Republic’s prisons last year. Nine of them were political prisoners, according to the Hengaw human rights news agency. 

Some of the deaths were caused by delayed medical treatment or denial of healthcare, fighting between inmates, suicides and suspected poisonings.