A newspaper in Iran says a clergyman committed suicide in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison’s special ward for the clergy. Qanun (Law) newspaper adds that the reason for the suicide was hardships prisoners and their families face.

Qanun has not named the victim and has not published any further details.

But former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s adviser Abdolreza Davari has tweeted that the name of the victim was Parviz Sarbaz and according to information he has received the clergyman used electrical current to kill himself.

The special ward for clergyman houses clerics sentenced to serve time for financial, political or ethical convictions.

The clergy also have their own special courts and are not tried by other tribunals. The judges of the clerical court are directly appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s judicial and prison system and prevailing judicial practices have been the focus of the United Nations and a host of human rights organization. Demands for reforms, especially for transparent trials and due process have not been accepted by the Islamic Republic, which insists its legal system is sound.