CCTV footage, obtained by a hacker group, shows a guard beating a detainee in Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran

UPDATE, AUG 25:

Head of judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei has ordered Prosecutor General Mohammad-Ja’far Montazeri to follow up “without delay” on cases of “guards or inmates mistreating inmates” in Evin Prison, giving him a report on the results of the inquiry.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, AUG 24: A senior Iranian official has admitted abuses in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

The head of Iran’s prison system, Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi, issued the statement on Tuesday — a day after videos surfaced of the violence against detainees.

A hacker group gave the videos to the Associated Press, which published portions. Four former prisoners and a foreign-based Iranian human rights activist said the footage matches areas of Evin, and the clips also correspond with photographs of the facility.

Hajmohammadi took responsibility for the “unacceptable behaviors” and said he would “avoid the repeat of such bitter incidents as well as confront the perpetrators”.

Constructed in 1971 during the rule of the Shah, Evin has long been notorious for claims of abuse, as well as the detention of political prisoners and foreign and dual nationals. The reports of mistreatment escalated after the mass protests over the disputed 2009 Presidential election, with many demonstrators and activists imprisoned.

MPs eventually called for reforms, leading to installation of closed-circuit cameras. However, Human Rights Watch summarized:

The authorities use threats of torture, threats of indefinite imprisonment and torture of family members, deception and humiliation, multiple daily interrogations lasting up to five or six hours, denial of medical care, and denial of family visits.

See also UN Experts: Free Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
“Like Abu Ghraib” — The Beating of Political Prisoners in Evin’s Ward 350

Hajmohammadi’s statement, featured on State TV, was an apparent attempt to protect others in the regime — including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — from fallout. He wrote, “My apologies to the Almighty God, the dear Supreme Leader, our great nation and the noble prison officers whose efforts will not be ignored because of the wrongdoings.”

The prison official did not apologize to the detainees who were abused.