Informed Source to VOA: Behbahan Prison is 'Hell for Itself'

An informed source, in an interview with VOA, likened the conditions of Behbahan Prison to 'hell', describing it as lacking adequate sanitary, medical, and welfare facilities for prisoners. Continuing reports on the substandard conditions of prisons in Iran, an eyewitness described the conditions in Behbahan Prison in Khuzestan province as 'bad', stating that the sanitary and welfare facilities are insufficient for the number of inmates, and according to him, 'it is hell for itself.' This informed source, who has spent some time in Behbahan Prison, pointed out the shortages in the prison, saying: 'For example, to use the toilet, you have to stand in line for half an hour, and for a shower, several hours.' The source mentioned that the heating conditions in the wards are 'broken' and that there are only 'two or three stoves' in the kitchen, which is inadequate for the number of prisoners and causes overcrowding. According to him, the prison store sells 'everything at several times higher prices,' and to buy basic and small items, one must stand in line for 'at least an hour.' The eyewitness also emphasized that the number of phones is insufficient for the number of inmates, stating that one must wait a long time for a short conversation. He also stressed that in Behbahan Prison, 'judicial attention is weak' and 'the sanitary conditions are terrible!' According to this informed source, Behbahan Prison 'has no doctor, and for a single pill, you have to struggle for a long time to get it.' Previously, researchers and human rights activists have repeatedly warned about the conditions of prisons in Iran. Among them, Amnesty International referred to the abuses revealed in Evin Prison in Tehran as 'the tip of the iceberg of the torture epidemic in Iran.' The 'unsanitary' conditions of Qarchak and Greater Tehran prisons have also been exposed by human rights sources. Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has previously described the conditions of prisons in Iran as 'very dire.'