In Tehran, Iran’s capital, two ex-convicts, Benyamin Nakhat and Arman Alizadeh, have opened a prison-themed cafe called “Cell 16.” Two Iranian ex-convicts who were sentenced to prison for not being able to pay their debts and were released after their debts were paid by an anonymous benefactor, allocate a part of the cafe’s income to convicts in prison due to their debts. Customers take pictures while wearing prisoner clothes hanging inside the cell in the cafe, which has cell-shaped sections and where meals are served behind bars.
The owner of the cafe, Benyamin Nakhat, said that he spent a period in prison and said, “I met my partner Arman Alizade in prison. Thanks to an anonymous benefactor paying our debts, Arman and I were able to get out of prison. During this time, I worked a variety of jobs, including taxi driver. We had to work and earn money. Lastly, Arman and I wanted to do a joint business, and we decided to open a cafe with our savings.”
“There are many innocent people imprisoned. We send a certain percentage of our earnings to prisoners who are in debt. Many prisoners have been released from prison, thanks to our help,” Nakhat added.