Civil Activists Warn About 'Inhumane Conditions' of Female Prisoners: Situation of Non-Political Prisoners Worse

Dozens of civil activists and women's rights advocates have condemned the 'arrest and repression of women activists' and the issuance of long-term sentences for them, calling for an end to the 'inhumane conditions' faced by some female prisoners in Iran. In a statement from a group of civil activists and women's rights advocates received by the Persian section of Voice of America on Tuesday, September 6, the situation of several prisoners, including Sarvnaz Ahmadi, Sara Jahani, Narges Mohammadi, Nahid Taghavi, Varisheh Moradi, Mahvash Sabat, Rezvaneh [Ahmad] Khanbeigi, Shakila Monfared, Zeinab Jalalian, Yasamin Hashdari, Forough Sami'nia, Nasrin Javadi, Maryam Yahyavi, Nasrin Roshan, Parvin Mirasa, and Vida Rabani, was highlighted, emphasizing the authorities' neglect of their essential medical needs. The statement reads: 'For non-political prisoners, the conditions are significantly worse; as they are not mentioned in the media, public opinion generally pays little attention to the situation of prisoners of social crimes.' The statement also noted that the prisons of the Islamic Republic in Iran have recently become 'centers of opposition to executions, with prisoners from across the country joining the No to Execution Tuesday strikes,' and as a result, 'in addition to the prohibition of visits and phone calls, deprivation of medical care has intensified as a punitive measure against protesting prisoners.' Activists who signed this statement emphasized: 'We demand an end to this inhumane situation. Deprivation of medical care in the prisons of the Islamic Republic is a recurring example of the violation of basic human rights, used as a tool for additional pressure on prisoners.' Activists inside and outside Iran, including Atena Daemi, Matoureh Ghonei, Aliyeh Matlabi, Parastoo Farah, Dina Ghalibaf, Shoaleh Pakrovan, Parvin Ardalan, Khadijeh Moghadam, Niloufar Beyzaei, and Banafsha Jamali, have signed this letter. The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran Bus Company condemned the deprivation of political female prisoners in Evin from phone calls and visits. Shakila Monfared was returned to Evin from the hospital; a reliable source reported that her hunger strike continues. Human rights organizations are concerned about further executions on the eve of the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi's message from Evin: 'The homeland will not remain under the control of oppression, corruption, and tyranny.' Five legal and human rights organizations protested the condemnation of Mohammad Seifzadeh. Several female political prisoners in Evin are still deprived of phone calls and visits with their families.