A human rights group and activists say that several political prisoners were attacked and injured in their ward by violent inmates in a Tehran prison on Friday.

The Human Rights Activists’ News Agency (HRANA) reported that violent inmates attacked the political prisoners in ward 2 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary injuring several. A few were taken to the prison’s infirmary for their injuries.

Ahmad-Reza Haeri, a former political prisoner tweeted that the guards did not intervene and left the gates locked as the attack was taking place, despite pleas of help from the political prisoners.

Many male and female political prisoners have complained in the past that interrogators or prison officials had threatened them with having violent inmates attack them.

Haeri also reported that the political inmates have been moved to an unknown location and have no contact with the outside world.

Hrana said that political prisoners in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary had complained before of being kept with violent inmates despite laws to separate the prisoners.