IRAN  - Rajaee Shar: a name that runs a chill down your spine... but what's it like for those who have to spend years if not their entire lives inside.

 

 

Most of these people are sentenced to life without parole... some are on death row.

This is the true end of the line and these people have absolutely nothing to lose; and yet life goes on.

Without the bars and without the uniforms these people did not look any different from those I knew outside. I talked to one of them who had studied engineering in Canada, guilty of killing five people over a family will dispute.

To err is human but how tolerant can the society be?

Head of the prison explained that the aim of imprisonment is not simply to punish the criminals but to help them reintegrate in the society and experience a better way of life. He said 200 inmates are currently studying in Iran's Open University in the prison and are completing their bachelor's degrees.

There are also vocational programs so many of those who participate gain a foothold in the society. This in turn prevents many of them from committing crimes again.

Despite these efforts the number of prisoners is on the rise.

According to official estimates, Iran's battle against drugs costs the country around $1 billion annually. And over 3700 combat forces have lost their lives in the fight against drug trafficking... now with experts pointing to drug related crimes as the reason behind the increase in the number of prisoners Iranians are paying the ever increasing price of western polices in the region.