Exclusive; Direct Role of the Head of Evin Prison in Suppressing Protests by Female Political Prisoners

According to new information obtained by the Persian section of Voice of America, Hedayatollah Farzadi, the head of Evin Prison, ordered the attack by Evin prison guards on the section of female political prisoners on the evening of Tuesday, August 7. He was present during the attack and verbally abused the prisoners. An informed source told Voice of America on Friday, August 18, that this attack occurred after the female prisoners staged a sit-in on Tuesday morning upon learning of the execution of Reza Rasayi, a political prisoner. The source noted that the news of Rasayi's execution had a negative impact on the female political prisoners, to the extent that the sister of Mojahid Korkor, a political prisoner sentenced to death, fainted. Meanwhile, Deepa Parent, a journalist for the British newspaper 'The Guardian', reported on Friday, citing Shirin Ardakani, the lawyer for Narges Mohammadi's family, that this Nobel Peace Prize-winning political prisoner had suffered a heart attack and was transferred to the hospital. As of now, no information has been published on Ms. Mohammadi's social media regarding this matter. Regarding the attack on Tuesday, the informed source told Voice of America that at least seven political prisoners were injured, with most of the prisoners' faces and heads targeted by the Evin guards. The intensity of the attack was such that two political prisoners, Nasrin Javadi and Sarvnaz Ahmadi, suffered seizures and lost consciousness, and several prisoners were given IV fluids as a result. The source added that most of the prisoners' bodies were bruised following the attack by the Evin guards. According to this report, one of the attackers involved in this assault, which was ordered by the head of Evin Prison, was Fathollah Pour, the deputy of security, who reportedly punched the prisoners in the face. Hadi Mohammadi, the night guard officer, Sarlak, a security staff member, and Hassan Ghobadi, the head of inspections, were other officials at Evin Prison who, according to the informed source, actively participated in the attack and beating of the female political prisoners. Previously, based on information received by Voice of America, Hadi Mohammadi used vulgar language towards the prisoners while attacking and beating them. So far, Evin Prison officials and the prison organization have not responded or reported on the conditions of the women's ward and the health of the prisoners who were targeted by the guards' attack. Female political prisoners in Evin have previously faced pressures from prison officials. In this context, the women's ward office at Evin Prison deprived 37 female political prisoners of visitation rights with their families due to their 'night sit-in on August 3 and 6' in protest against the death sentence issued for Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker prisoner. Reza (Gholamreza) Rasayi, a 34-year-old protester from Shahin Dezh in Kermanshah province and a follower of the Yarsan faith, was sentenced to death based on 'forced confessions under torture' from several other detainees related to the killing of Nader Birami, the head of the intelligence department of Shahin Dezh, an accusation he has repeatedly denied.