Latest news with #Qarchak
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Iran moves female dissidents to 'hellhole' detention centre after Israeli airstrike on notorious prison
Iran has moved its female prisoners into a 'hellhole' detention centre following an Israeli airstrike on the country's infamous Evin jail. Israel struck Tehran's most notorious jail for political prisoners on Monday, the day before a ceasefire deal was agreed on, bringing an end to a 12-day war. Inmates have now been moved to Qarchak prison, The Telegraph reports, which is a former livestock facility-turned detention camp around 40 miles south of Tehran. Activist groups have frequently raised concerns over Qarchak, which is known for carrying out torture and other human rights violations. There is also no proper sewage system or access to clean water, it is reported. Many women arrested during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests were locked up in Qarchak, and several are still being held there. One woman described being moved from Evin to Qarchak following the Israeli strike in an audio recording. 'The American and Israeli bombing didn't kill us, but the Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it's practically killing us,' the woman said. 'They've brought us to a place where humans don't live. It's a gradual death.' The woman also called the detention centre a 'real hellhole' and described being crammed into a small quarantine ward with other inmates where 'the stench of filth' is everywhere and the food inedible. Between 1,500 and 2,000 women are held at Qarchak throughout most of the year. Each hall was designed for fewer than 100 people, but they typically home over 150. The prison is also infested with cockroaches, rats, water bugs and lizards, and medical care is very limited. Despite the lack of adequate healthcare, prisoners are often given tranquilisers. Most inmates at Qarchak are women from marginalised and vulnerable backgrounds, and also holds children up to the age of four with their mothers. Male inmates are understood to have been taken from Evin to Fashafoyeh prison outside the capital following the Israeli strike. The transfer of the inmates to the infamous prison comes as Iranian authorities have launched a wave of arrests following the fragile ceasefire, detaining hundreds on espionage charges, as the weakened government becomes increasingly paranoid. The conditions in Evin prison were also dreadful. The detention centre was known for holding political prisoners of the Islamic Republic, including foreign nationals, such as British citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratclife, who was freed in 2022. Women locked up in Evin prison were 'interrogated for 10 to 12 hours every day' and threatened with beatings and even executions, multiple sources once told the BBC. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe said about her time at Evin: 'I spent nine months in solitary confinement with very little access to anything. Being claustrophobic, solitary was a horrific experience.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran moves female prisoners to ‘hellhole' cattle farm jail
Iran moved female inmates to a 'hellhole' detention centre in the wake of an Israeli air strike on Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Missiles struck the site, where dissidents are jailed to silence them, on Monday morning, the day before Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire ending their 12-day war. The Telegraph has learnt that guards moved prisoners from the facility after the strike, with women being taken to Qarchak prison, a former livestock facility that has been converted into a detention centre 40 miles south of the Iranian capital. Humanitarian groups have issued frequent alerts about the centre, which is sanctioned by the US on the basis of extrajudicial killings, torture and other violations of human rights. Iranian authorities have launched a wave of arrests across the country since the fragile truce was struck, detaining more than 700 people on espionage charges. The Islamic Republic has used international tensions as a cover while it cracks down on dissent at home and steps up retributions. The regime has been significantly weakened, and clerics are said to have become paranoid and wary of a challenge to their grip on power. However, since Israel's war with Iran started, the Tehran regime has stopped arresting women for not wearing headscarves, with analysts saying it wanted public support as it was put under pressure by the bombing campaign by Israel and the US. But women protesters still suffer in prison. Many women arrested during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests were moved to Qarchak prison, where some remain. In an audio recording, a woman named Sayeh Seydal described being moved from Evin prison to Qarchak in the wake of Monday's air strike. 'The American and Israeli bombing didn't kill us, but the Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it's practically killing us,' Ms Seydal said in the recording smuggled out of the country. 'They've brought us to a place where humans don't live. It's a gradual death.' Ms Seydal is serving three years for social media posts deemed unacceptable to the Iranian regime, and had been imprisoned at Evin since October 2024. After the explosion, special guards reportedly attacked prisoners and began to move them. Men were transferred to Fashafoyeh prison outside Tehran, while women were handcuffed and transported to Qarchak. According to Ms Seydal's recording, the conditions defy basic human dignity. 'They've crammed everyone into a quarantine ward – a real hellhole,' she said. 'The toilets are like outdoor latrines. The showers? Like outdoor showers. The stench of filth has taken over everywhere. Even the water – the water you splash on your face – is salty. The food? It absolutely cannot be eaten. A terrible situation. 'The Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it seems they want to get revenge for Israel and America and just kill us off easily.' Qarchak lacks prison standards that even the livestock once enjoyed. There is no proper sewage system or access to clean water, according to human rights groups There are no windows, and when the iron gates to outdoor areas close at 5pm, inmates stare at walls with only two small holes, 'the size of lentils,' for glimpses of the sky. Between 1,500 and 2,000 women are held at Qarchak throughout most of the year. Each hall was designed for fewer than 100 people, but they typically house over 150. At times, the number has reached 600, leaving prisoners without space to sleep, even on the floor. The detention centre is infested with cockroaches, rats, salamanders, lizards, water bugs and venomous tarantulas, according to human rights activists and former prisoners. Medical care is severely limited, with only five prisoners per ward allowed daily medical visits, and while prison authorities claim budget constraints prevent the provision of essential medications, they freely distribute sleeping pills and tranquillisers to keep prisoners sedated. Most of Qarchak's inmates are women from marginalised and impoverished backgrounds, among the most vulnerable sectors of Iranian society. Qarchak also holds children up to the age of four with their imprisoned mothers. The children endure the same harsh conditions, and having seen no men during their imprisonment, often become frightened when encountering men after leaving prison 'Qarchak prison is a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Norway-based Iran human rights organisation. 'The continued operation of such facilities is a stain on the conscience of the world.' Iran's judiciary said the transfers were conducted to 'respect prisoners' rights' and 'provide better services'. The conditions in Evin prison were already dire. Established in 1972, it has become notorious for its use by the Tehran regime to detain political prisoners, including British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was released from Iran in 2022. After the Israeli strike, family members of other foreign detainees expressed concerns about their loved ones' safety, with relatives saying they had no information about their status. While Iran's judiciary confirmed the strike, Iran has not released official casualty figures or disclosed the current status of transferred prisoners. One prisoner who was able to call his family was Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic who has been on death row since 2017. But his wife Vida Mehrannia said she has not spoken with her husband since after the strikes on Monday, when he called to say he had survived. She is increasingly worried. 'He called and said he was OK, but parts of Evin had been destroyed and they were being moved somewhere,' she said. 'I've had no news from him since.' Mr Djalali was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death the following year on charges of espionage for Israel's Mossad. Six people, including alleged Mossad spies, have been executed over the past week. Asked how worried she is about the latest developments, Ms Mehrannia asked The Telegraph: 'Are they going to execute him? He was very worried and said that two of his cellmates have so far been executed.' She added: 'The situation in Iran is not good, but ours is worse than anyone else's. They've taken our lives away for the past nine years. I just hope they leave us alone.' 'Why do they insist someone is a Mossad spy when he isn't,' she asked. 'He is not a Mossad spy, but they keep insisting he is – and it's punishing.'
