Amnesty International Criticizes 'Inhuman' Treatment of Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee in Prison

On Friday, March 9, Amnesty International severely criticized the conditions of Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee, civil activists, in prison in Iran, calling for their immediate and unconditional release. Amnesty International states that Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee are being held in inappropriate and unsanitary conditions in quarantine at Qarchak Prison, with limited access to the outside world. The organization reports that inmates at Qarchak Prison are not provided with sufficient food and their drinking water is salty. According to Amnesty's statement, Golrokh Iraee has been on a hunger strike for 35 days and has become very weak as a result. Last week, she was connected to a nutritional IV without her consent. Reports indicate that these two human rights activists went on hunger strike 10 days after being transferred from the women’s ward of Evin Prison to Qarchak Prison in Varamin, accompanied by 'beatings.' Philip Luther, the director of Middle East and North Africa Research at Amnesty International, expressed serious concern over reports regarding the targeting and mistreatment of Golrokh and Atena, stating that they should never have been imprisoned and that Iranian authorities appear to deliberately treat them in a harsh, humiliating, and inhuman manner, as they continue to defend human rights even in prison. This Amnesty official added that Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release them (Golrokh and Atena). Instead of punishing those who have dedicated their lives to human rights, Iranian authorities should ensure a safe environment free from pressure and threats for human rights defenders. Golrokh Iraee was arrested on September 6, 2014, along with her husband, Arash Sadeghi, and later sentenced to six years in prison for 'insulting sacred beliefs and propaganda against the regime' by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, a sentence that was upheld by Branch 54 of the Appeals Court. Ms. Iraee was accused of 'insulting sacred beliefs' for writing an unpublished story about stoning, which security agents discovered during a home inspection. Atena (Fatemeh) Daemi, 29 years old, was arrested on October 21, 2014, and interrogated for 86 days in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A. She was transferred to the women's ward of Evin Prison on January 17 of the following year after the interrogations ended. Ms. Daemi was sentenced to 14 years in prison for 'propaganda against the regime, conspiracy and collusion against national security, insulting the leadership, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, and concealing evidence of a crime.' These charges stem from her peaceful human rights activities, including distributing pamphlets opposing executions and her Facebook and Twitter writings criticizing the situation of executions in Iran. Atena Daemi's prison sentence was reduced to seven years by the Appeals Court.