Jun 29, 2016

According to an Iranian prison official, the first step for turning one of Iran’s most notorious prisons into a park has been taken. Evin prison is renowned for holding some of Iran’s most well-known political prisoners and high-profile dual nationals.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony marking Judiciary Week, Asghar Jahangir, the head of Iran’s prisons, said, “We prepared the initial draft agreement and sent it to the municipality.” According to Tasnim News Agency, the judiciary needs agreements on a new prison and transfer of prisoners.

One of the main issues is that Tehran province does not specifically have a prison and most prisoners are housed in Alborz province, west of Tehran, said Jahangir. He also said that at the new prison, they will be able to separate inmates with a history of convictions from those who have few previous criminal convictions.

The 106-acre prison was built in a northern Tehran neighborhood in 1972 under the previous government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Some of the first calls to close the prison were heard in the first days after the 1979 Islamic Revolution by Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, one of the leaders of the Freedom Movement of Iran, according to Shargh Daily newspaper.

News of Evin turning into a park or even possibly a museum captured the attention of Iran’s media in April 2015 when Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced that negotiations have been underway with the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani. According to Shargh, the idea was also suggested three years ago, but prison officials said at the time that only preliminary talks were being held and no plans had been presented. That the talks are taking place with the head of the judiciary suggests that this plan will be completed.