Iranian authorities have not allowed four Kurdish political prisoners to see their families during their 17 years of imprisonment in Yazd Prison.

Kurdish political prisoners Omer Imami, Ali Salehi, Mohammed Moradi and Wali Droodi were sentenced to long-term prison sentences for being members of a Kurdish opposition party and have not been allowed receive visits from their family members for the past 17 years. Omer Imami, who is 36 years old, from the village of Klash Hosh outside Paveh, was arrested in 1996, and was sentenced to life in prison. He has spent the past 17 years in Yazd Prison without seeing his family members.

Weli Drudi was sentenced to a 3-year prison sentence on charges of being a member of Kurdish political party, he was released for a couple of months and then without any charges imprisoned again and sentenced to life in prison without a trail. He has now spent 17 years in prison. Jahangir Hatami, one of the co-prisoners of these four political prisoners told Kurdistan Press Agency that Ali Salehi and Mohammad Moradi, who were also arrested in 1996 in the village of Passe outside the city of Kamiaran, are in the same situation as Imami and Drudi.

The four men were transferred to the central prison of Yazd from Dizl Abad Prison of Kermanshah in 1998. Hatami also said that Omer Imami had been shot by Revolutionary Guards when he was arrested and that he lost the function of one of his legs due to the injuries that he sustained and that Mohammad Moradi does not have any relatives in Iran, they have all left to Iraqi Kurdistan Region due to pressure from the Iranian authorities.

Also, Ali Salehihas been tortured so bad that he has lost his teeth and he can only eat certain foods, Hatemi said. Weli Drudi was also shot by Revolutionary Guards when he was arrested and is in a bad health condition according to Hatami.

Omer Imami and Weli Drudi were sentenced to life in prison by a Revolutionary Court on charges of being members of a Kurdish opposition party. Ali Salehi and Mohammad Moradi were sentenced to 20 years in prison on the same charges.