Call for Closure of Qarchak Prison; Human Rights Organization: 'Hell' for Women and Children

A human rights organization has described Qarchak Prison in Varamin as a 'hell for women and children' and called for its closure. The Iran Human Rights Organization on Tuesday, December 20, released this 'shocking report' coinciding with International Human Rights Day, emphasizing that it 'only reflects a part of the atrocities occurring in Qarchak Prison,' which has become 'one of the darkest symbols of systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.' The report notes that the building now used as a women's prison 'was initially designed as a chicken coop' and is 'an inhumane place for holding female prisoners.' Inmates are kept in 'very small spaces, without adequate ventilation and light,' where 'unsafe drinking water, poor food quality, lack of proper health and medical services, and humiliating and gender-based treatment are just part of their daily suffering,' and even the 'most basic principles of human dignity' are ignored. The Iran Human Rights Organization disclosed that in halls designed for less than 100 people, 'usually more than 150' are held, with numbers sometimes reaching 'up to 600.' According to one inmate's statement, 'an abundance of pests, including cockroaches,' has been reported in this prison, which is also 'a place frequented by rats, salamanders, lizards, water skinks, and even poisonous tarantulas.' The organization also stated that imprisoned mothers 'raise their children in a dangerous and polluted environment until the age of two,' after which they are separated and transferred to welfare centers, emphasizing that these imprisoned mothers 'often have no means to follow up on the fate of their children,' and 'the unregistered children born in this prison are trapped in a cycle of deprivation and injustice from the very beginning of their lives.' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, stated that Qarchak Prison is 'a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity,' considering its continued operation 'a stain on the global conscience,' and called for the immediate closure of Qarchak, adding: 'Now more than ever, we must urge the international community not to remain silent in the face of this widespread human rights violation.' The Iran Human Rights Organization also called for 'the immediate closure of Qarchak Prison, ensuring the rights of imprisoned women and children, establishing independent oversight, ending the exile of political prisoners from this place, and achieving justice and accountability' for the officials of Qarchak Prison. The substandard conditions of prisons in the Islamic Republic have consistently been criticized by international human rights organizations based on eyewitness reports.