Shirin S's List: Human Right in the Islamic Republic of Iran

• It was run by SAVAK and originally designed to house 320 inmates - 20 in solitary cells, and 300 in two large communal blocks. By 1977, it housed more than 1500, with 100 solitary cells.^[2]

• 
   Under the Islamic Republic, the prison population was again expanded significantly, holding 15,000 inmates according to scholar Ervand Abrahamian.^[3] "In theory, Evin was a detention center for those awaiting trial," after which the prisoners would be transferred to another prison, Qezel Hesar or Gohardasht Prison. "In reality, Evin served as a regular prison as many waited years before being brought to trial," and prominent prisoners often served their entire sentences in Evin." Execution also took place at Evin.^[4] Following the Islamic Revolution Mohammad Kachouyi was made warden of Evin. After his assassination in June 1981, Asadollah Lajevardi, the chief prosecutor of Tehran, was warden ^[5] until 1985. Lajevardi was assassinated in 1998 by the People's Mujahedin of Iran.

   

  The prison is located in a residential and commercial area known as Evin, next to the Saadat Abad district. There is a large park area with a popular upscale teahouse and restaurant located immediately next to it. Photography in front of and around the prison is illegal.
• Notable prisoners at Evin before the 1979 revolution include Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani and Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri.
• On 23 June 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking photographs in front of the prison, and died while in prison. The Iranian government claimed that she died from a stroke while being interrogated, but doctors examining Kazemi's body found evidence of rape, torture and a skull fracture.^[6]

  • Killed for having the ability to expose them - one of many.
• Prisoners held after the Islamic revolution include Marina Nemat, who spent two years in Evin from 1982, having participated in anti regime protests at her school. She has written about her torture and the death of her fellow students at the prison.^[7]
• Recent political prisoners of note held at Evin have included Akbar Ganji (held there from 2000 to 2006), Mohsen Sazegara (in 2003), Nasser Zarafshan, as well as Hamid Pourmand (2005-6), Dariush Zahedi, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, on charges of espionage (2003), subsequently acquitted in 2004, and Ramin Jahanbegloo (2006).
• At dawn on 27 July 2008, the Iranian Government executed a total of 29 people at Evin Prison by hanging.^[8]

• Ron Arad, an Israeli pilot who was captured by Hezbollah Militants in Lebanon while escaping from His F-4 in 1986 and allegedly passed on to Iranian authorities, is claimed to be imprisoned here.^{[citation needed]}

   

  Esha Momeni, a student at the California State University, Northridge, was held at Evin after her arrest on October 15, 2008 for crimes against national security.^[9] She was in Iran to visit family and research women's rights in the country.^[10][11] Momeni was released 11 November 2008.^[12]

   

  Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist, was arrested in January 2009 for reporting without press credentials with a charge of espionage added in April. She was held in the Evin Prison as well. She was released in May 2009.^[13][14]

   

  Journalist/blogger Hossein Derakhshan is rumored to be held in Evin. He was detained in November 2008, allegedly for spying for Israel, but little news has been reported on his detention.

   

  French student Clotilde Reiss, who stood trial in August 2009 was also held there.

  • History of imprisoning young journalists and students with outlets to the Western world.

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• Mr. ALI AFSHARI (Former Inmate of Evin Prison): When Iranian think of Evin, they think of torture, confession and fear. And everybody fears about the TV confession or any kind of confession that destroys or break down his personality.
• INSKEEP: Former student leader Ali Afshari found his own personality under assault when he was thrown into Evin Prison. He's one of two former inmates who told us about the place. It opened in 1971, when the Shah of Iran was the ruler whose jailors were feared. The ayatollahs who replaced him found the same use for Evin Prison. So many intellectuals have spent time there that it is nicknamed Evin University. Human rights lawyer Mehrangiz Kar was thrown in prison after giving a speech that the government disliked.

  • Has been used as a way to silence the voices of the oppostion since the first revolution.
• Ms. MEHRANGIZ KAR (Former Inmate of Evin Prison): I was there for 54 days in solitary confinement. And something that is very terrible for political prisoner is there is not any separation between political prisoner and other prisoner. And this is terrible. And this is something like torture because political prisoners are, you know, living with drug dealer or murderer and they did do something criminal like that.

  • Are political prisoners thrown in with the other inmates on purpose? Is this a method of social isolation?
• But something that makes prisons in Iran more difficult, especially for political prisoner, is a fact that they are not allowed to have a lawyer with them. And that's why there is no witness and they can do anything they want. This is most important problem for political prisoners in Iran.

  • No lawyers means no defense means no chance of winning against the government.

• INSKEEP: Ali Afshari, can you just paint a picture for me? When you're in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, how big is your cell?

  Mr. AFSHARI: Very small, for example, it's two and 1.8 meter.

  INSKEEP: Maybe a little more than six feet long…

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes.

  INSKEEP: …and less than six feet wide?

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes, that's right.

  INSKEEP: And that's where you're at.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes, (unintelligible)

  INSKEEP: Is there a window?

  Mr. AFSHARI: The window is on top of the cell.

  INSKEEP: And you had - when we say solitary confinement, we mean solitary.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes, that's right.

  • Isolated and cramped prison conditions.

• INSKEEP: We cannot say precisely how Haleh Esfandiari has been treated or questioned. But I'd like to know, did they put a blank piece of paper in front of you and say write out a confession?

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes. (Unintelligible) first, they asked me several times the same questions. And they tried to push me, to push me to write the answer they would like. But I didn't do that. But, in other prison, I accused of overthrowing the regime. And that time, yes. The investigator, first he told the story and asked me to write exactly about it. And also, he request me to develop that story and…

  INSKEEP: Make it a little better story.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes.

  • Prisoners forced into false confessions.

• INSKEEP: They broke you down.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes.

  INSKEEP: Do you mean they tortured you?

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes, they tortured - physical torture and psychological torture for several months.

  INSKEEP: Several months. Did they beat you? Did they…

  Mr. AFSHARI: They beat me. They didn't allow me to sleep.

  INSKEEP: Sleep deprivation.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Sleep deprivation. Yeah, for…

  INSKEEP: How do they keep you awake?

  Mr. AFSHARI: Some investigators follow me.

  • Prisoners were tortured so they would give confessions, by means of beatings and forced sleep deprivation.

• INSKEEP: If you closed your eyes somebody might…

  Mr. AFSHARI: Somebody, somebody…

  INSKEEP: Somebody will hit you.

  Mr. AFSHARI: Somebody came, yeah, and didn't allow me. Yeah. And finally I surrendered.

  INSKEEP: You surrendered.

  Mr. AFSHARI: I surrendered and I accepted TV confession. But I think it's not interview, it's a film and I served as an actor in that film.

  INSKEEP: You were an actor…

  Mr. AFSHARI: Yes.

  INSKEEP: …in their play.

  Mr. AFSHARI: In their play.

  • "I surrendered....I was an actor in their play" Excellent quote - definately use!

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• Justice Minister Jamal Karimirad said it was because some internet sites had published stories criticising Iran's human rights record in prisons ahead of next week's meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.  

   

  We were only shown the women's ward of Evin jail in the northern suburbs of the Iranian capital, Tehran, and were not allowed to film any of it, except for some empty dormitories.  

   All the buildings we were shown appeared to have been recently refurbished. We were not allowed to choose where we went. 

  • Note that journalist were only allowed in after someone threatened to expose them, and that they were stricltly monitored and controlled.

• Dr Mustafa Mohvahedi, who works there, said there had been only one suicide in the past six months but patients and their families could opt for psychotherapy if they needed it.  

   He said 32 of the inmates were HIV-positive and one of those now had full-blown Aids. The hospital had many posters warning about the danger of Aids and promoting condom use.  

   

   

  According to prison officials, there are 2,575 men and 375 women in Evin jail.  

   They say none of these are political prisoners because Iran does not recognise this as a category.  

  • Given statistics may be incorrect given the high amount of drug use in the nation. Psychotherapy may not be reliable and might have the intention of reverse effects. Declaring someone insane by showing that they are in psychotherapy is a good way to make accusations and detrimental claims dissapear.

• Journalists asked to see some of the better-known prisoners, such as the Canadian-Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo who was arrested last month in connection with issues of national security, but permission was denied.  

   The authorities said a judge had to give written permission to see him.  

   Reporters also asked to see a French national and a German national who are being held in the prison, but permission was also denied.  

   There was also a tour of the prison kitchens, where officials were keen to demonstrate the high-quality of food - they were serving khoresht e gheimeh (split pea and lamb stew) for lunch.  

   But one woman prisoner we spoke to, who was charged with illicit sex and prostitution, complained that the food was not good.  

  • May have refurbished the prison and only shown the best parts to the press. The fact that they only allowed them in the women's section - somewhere that it is highly unlikely that torture takes place - says something.

• A 21-year-old woman, who did not want to give her name and was charged with being an accomplice to serial murder with her boyfriend, also said the main problem was how long the trial was taking.  

   She had been in jail six months and was still waiting for the verdict.  

   She admitted to posing as an estate agent in order to rob houses but did not know that her boyfriend was killing the women they robbed.  

   She said she saw her family once a week and was happy that the cells were clean.  

  • Why do they take so long with trials? Probably to convince or threaten the opposing party to not share a particular piece of information. Keeping them in prison is better for the government image.

• The prison authorities showed us women receiving literacy classes and instruction in carpet weaving as well as a library and a small snack shop.  

   One official said 500 inmates were studying for university degrees from inside the jail.  

  • Supposedly a good place, but how much of it is untrue? Probably most...

• There was an open air yard where the women can play netball as well as an indoor gym.  

   We tried to talk to the women in the gym but a prison official stood over us listening and intimidating the women.  

   One woman started to complain that they were bullied and we were quickly ushered away.  

  • Where prisoners threatened to keep their mouths shut? How will that woman be punished?

• In the corridors, we saw two public telephones and were told by the prison that inmates are allowed to use them for 10 minutes a day.  

   We saw women in their cells, which were dormitories with bunk beds housing about 20 women.  

   The cells had no doors and were clean and tidy - many with brand new carpet on the floor.  

  • How much of this is meant only for the purpose of leaving a good impression?

• One 70-year-old woman complained she had been in jail two years because she could not pay a fine of about $4,500 (£2,450).  

   Another woman said she and her husband had been jailed after they printed a book in their home that criticised the regime's interpretation of Islam.  

  • Ridiculous and highly biased reasons for confinement.

• Although the physical conditions of the section we saw appeared good, it was impossible to gauge whether or not there is mistreatment of prisoners inside the jail.  

   Former political prisoners, such as journalists and bloggers, have complained of human rights abuses such as solitary confinement, harsh interrogation tactics and even torture.  

   The best-known case of abuse was that of the Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi who was arrested after taking pictures of relatives outside Evin jail.  

   She was so badly beaten that she died of her injuries in hospital.<!-- E BO -->           

  • Hiding torture chambers? Definately so.

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