Latest news with #conditions
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Evin prison: Iran's detainees in 'unbearable' conditions after Israeli strikes
One month on from deadly Israeli air strikes on a notorious Iranian prison during the war between the two countries, inmates say they are being kept under unbearable and inhumane conditions after being moved to other promises by the authorities, some of those transferred from Evin Prison in Tehran say they continue to face difficulties such as overcrowded cells, lack of beds and air conditioning, limited number of toilets and showers, and insect BBC has received accounts from the family members of prisoners moved from Evin, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity out of concern for the safety of themselves and the targeted Evin on 23 June. According to the Iranian authorities, the attack killed 80 people, including five prisoners, 41 prison staff and 13 military conscripts. The prison held thousands of men and women, including prominent political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and dual and foreign nationals, as well as members of religious and ethnic minorities. All inmates were subsequently moved out and sent to other prisons following the videos and satellite imagery confirm damage to several buildings within the complex, including the medical clinic, the visitor centre, the prosecutor's office and an administrative the attack, the Israeli military described the prison as "a symbol of oppression for the Iranian people". It said it carried out the strikes in a "precise manner to mitigate harm to civilians" imprisoned has labelled the attack a "war crime". Israel's military also said that Evin was used for "intelligence operations against Israel, including counter-espionage". It did not comment further when asked to provide evidence for the International said on Tuesday that, following an in-depth investigation, the attack constituted "a serious violation of international humanitarian law and must be criminally investigated as war crimes"."Under international humanitarian law, a prison or place of detention is presumed a civilian object and there is no credible evidence in this case that Evin prison constituted a lawful military objective," it added. Through his family members, one political prisoner who was sent to the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, also known as Fashafouyeh Prison, said that fellow inmates told him conditions there were inhumane even before Evin detainees were said that the prison was in such a remote and dangerous area outside the capital that his wife had not been able to visit him since he moved to Evin, which is in an accessible, residential area in north Tehran, Fashafouyeh is located 20 miles (32km) south of Tehran, in a desert with nothing around it but a road, according to the family prisoner told his family that many inmates were still sleeping on the floor at Fashafouyeh in overcrowded cells without air conditioning, although the authorities have said repeatedly that they will improve the situation.A video from inside the prison, which has been verified by the BBC, shows a cell crowded with prisoners lying on beds and on the floor. At one point, a group affiliated with the authorities came to the prison to film a video intended to show that prisoners were doing well, but other inmates began chanting "death to the dictator" - a popular protest slogan among Iranian opposition groups directed at the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - and stopped them from filming, the family of the prisoner of inmates in Fashafouyeh said that political prisoners were now staying in the same cell as those accused or convicted of violent crimes. This is a tactic that rights groups say Iran uses to intimidate political prisoners and is against the United Nations' rules on the treatment of political detainee transferred to Fashafouyeh described his cell to his family as being unbearable due to lack of hygiene, with bedbugs and cockroaches all around, adding that the prison lacks basic amenities even compared to Evin. Human Rights Watch has previously accused the Iranian authorities of using threats of torture and indefinite imprisonment, along with lengthy interrogations and the denial of medical care for detainees. Iran has rejected these Evin has long drawn condemnation from human rights groups over alleged torture and threats, conditions at Fashafouyeh had been "underreported", prisoners told the Iranian journalist Mehdi Mahmoodian, who was also transferred from Evin to Fashafouyeh, said in a letter published on his Instagram page that due to the non-political nature of prisoners who were held there, they had been "long forgotten" and subjected to "years of humiliation, neglect, and oppression" because "they have no voice". Fariba Kamalabadi, a 62-year-old Baha'i detainee who was transferred from Evin to Qarchak Prison, south of the capital, has said that she "would rather have died in the attack than be transferred to such a prison".Iran's minority Baha'i community has long faced systematic discrimination and persecution, denied constitutional recognition and basic rights like education, public employment and religious freedom, because the Islamic Republic does not recognise it as a religion."Fariba has to live in Qarchak in an overcrowded cell, where it is so cramped that people have to take turns to eat food around the table, and then return to their beds afterwards because of the lack of space", said her daughter, Alhan Taefi, who lives in the UK. "Some of the roughly 60 prisoners who have been transferred from Evin with her are elderly women, and they do not receive proper medical care. There are flies everywhere in the cell. Her son-in-law and grandchildren, who are six and nine, were allowed to visit her in Evin but have not been granted permission to visit her yet, as they are not considered immediate family."The BBC has contacted the Iranian embassy in London for comment on the conditions of prisoners who have been transferred from Evin. Civilian deaths In the month since the strikes, the BBC has verified the deaths of seven civilians related to the attack on Evin, including a five-year-old boy, a doctor, and a members of Mehrangiz Imenpour, 61, a painter and mother of two who lived near the prison complex, told the BBC that she was "caught in the tragedy" of the attack. She left home to use a cash machine and happened to be walking on a street adjacent to the prison's visitor centre as Israel struck the complex, a family member said. She was killed by the impact of the children are devastated, a relative recounted to the BBC."When two states engage in a conflict, people are the ones who pay the price. Both states are guilty, both are responsible, and both must be held to account", the relative said. Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, BBC Verify
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
New Zealand suffering brain drain from emigration
StatsNZ figures show nearly 30,000 people moved from New Zealand to Australia last year, citing better pay and conditions for their departure. It was the highest level of emigration to Australia since it peaked in 2012 at nearly 44,000. ABC NewsRadio's William Terite spoke to Shamubeel Eaqub about the widening gap in conditions between the two neighbours.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Sky News
No bedding, sleeping guards and cockroaches: chief prisons inspector on why HMP Pentonville is in special measures
The chief inspector of prisons has described the sense of "helplessness" at Pentonville prison after the jail was put into special measures by a watchdog. Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, described "bleak" conditions at the north London prison, where he said inmates had been illegally detained longer than their release date and supervised by staff who were either reading books or asleep. Mr Taylor served an urgent notification on HMP Pentonville after an inspection discovered that 130 inmates - 20% of those eligible for release - had been held illegally after their release date in the last six months because staff "failed to calculate sentences accurately". The backlog in sentencing calculations also meant 10 prisoners had been released early "in error" between July 2024 and June 2025. The watchdog's report also found that 60% of prisoners were sharing cells that were designed for one person, many living areas were dirty and that there was a widespread infestation of mice and cockroaches. Speaking to Sky News Breakfast, Mr Taylor said he had been forced to use the "rare" power of putting a prison in special measures because of the "chaos" at Pentonville. "This is a big, busy London reception prison, Victorian, crumbling," he said. "But particularly worrying, we found new arrivals were coming into the jail with no bedding, no pillows. I came across a guy who had only half a mattress in his room on his first night in prison. "We found prison staff who couldn't account for where their prisoners were during the day. We found prisoners who were on constant watch, who were on suicide watch, being supervised by staff who were reading books, who were asleep in one case, and in one case, completely absent." Pentonville is the 10th prison to be issued with an urgent notification since November 2022, following Exeter, Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution, Woodhill, Bedford, Wandsworth, Rochester, Manchester and Winchester prisons. The emergency measure was introduced in 2017 as a way to raise immediate concerns following an inspection, which requires a response and action plan by the justice secretary within 28 days. In a letter to Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, Mr Taylor said arrangements for new prisoners' first night at the north London jail and induction were "chaotic and even frightening", with the majority of prisoners were locked in their cells for more than 22 hours a day. Inspectors took emergency action after they found care of vulnerable prisoners under constant supervision was "shockingly poor", with one prison officer found asleep, two were reading books and another was "completely absent". The "unacceptable practices" in looking after these prisoners, deemed at serious risk of self-harm, were a particular concern for inspectors given three suicides at the jail in 2025. Mr Taylor told Sky News there was a sense of "helplessness" at Pentonville. "There was a sense that this is Pentonville and there's nothing we can do, and it's all too difficult and just a lack of real morale amongst many of the staff members that we talked to, despite many of them doing a really good job in difficult circumstances," he said. "It was a pretty bleak place. It was very noisy. It was violent, drugs are getting into the jail and really it needs some proper grip from the prison service if it's going to make progress." A survey of prisoners also revealed 44% told inspectors they felt unsafe at the time of inspection, which the watchdog said was the highest figure recorded during his tenure as chief inspector. Prisons minister Lord James Timpson said he visited the prison on Thursday, where the team is already working to urgently address the concerns raised by the chief inspector. An action plan will also be published in the coming weeks to support the efforts. Lord Timpson said: "This government will end the chaos we inherited in our jails. "We are building 14,000 new prison places and reforming sentencing so our jails reduce reoffending, cut crime, and keep victims safe."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
‘There is no water to take a bath': Detainees describe conditions in Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
Detainees being held at the newly opened 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center in Florida say conditions are dire, with scarce food, no water to bathe, and constant bright lights making it difficult to sleep. Leamsy 'La Figura' Izquierdo, a Cuban artist who was arrested in Miami last week, told CBS News he was moved to the detention facility in the Everglades on Friday along with what he claims are more than 400 other detainees. Since then, Izquierdo says, he and other detainees have been treated poorly. 'There's no water to take a bath, it's been four days since I've taken a bath,' Izquierdo said. Izquierdo, who was arrested on battery and assault with a deadly weapon, said detainees are fed once a day with food that has 'maggots' in it and are not provided toothpaste. 'They only brought a meal once a day and it has maggots, he added. 'They never take of the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants.' Another detainee, an unnamed Colombian man, said his mental health was deteriorating without access to his medication and Bible. 'I'm on the edge of losing my mind. I've gone three days without taking my medicine," he told CBS. "It's impossible to sleep with this white light that's on all day." "They took the Bible I had and they said here there is no right to religion. And my Bible is the one thing that keeps my faith, and now I'm losing my faith," he added. Alligator Alcatraz is the recently erected temporary detention facility located deep in the Florida Everglades. It was created quickly to help alleviate pressure from local and state jails that have been directed to detain immigrants. The facility, managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is expected to hold anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people rounded up as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation plan. But because of the quick turnaround to turn the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center, detainees are being housed in metal enclosures inside large tents while utilities are being provided by mobile units. Another detainee, who was not named by CBS, told the news outlet that those running the facility were not respecting 'human rights.' He described being at Alligator Alcatraz as 'a form of torture.' "They're not respecting our human rights. We're human beings; we're not dogs. We're like rats in an experiment,' he said. "I don't know their motive for doing this, if it's a form of torture. A lot of us have our residency documents and we don't understand why we're here,' he added. Izquierdo is among those with permanent residency in the United States, his girlfriend told NBC Miami. But after he was arrested, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him to determine whether or not he should be deported. The charges he faces stem from a violent dispute with a tow company worker, wh was trying to repossess a jet ski, according to a police report seen by the outlet. Human rights activists, such as the ACLU, have denounced Alligator Alcatraz and raised concerns about the inhuman conditions detainees could potentially face. 'This project dehumanizes people, strips them of their rights, and diverts public dollars from the services our communities need,' Bacardi Jackson, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said. In addition to human rights concerns, environmentalists have raised issues with the administration building the facility on the Everglades. Members of the Indigenous community in Florida have also raised alarm that it's built on sacred land. The Independent has reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management's Office for comment. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Republican lawmaker challenges Democrats' characterization of 'Alligator Alcatraz' after touring facility
Florida Rep. Maria Salazar said the Sunshine State's new "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center meets the "highest of standards" while working to debunk Democrats' claims that its conditions are "cruel." The Republican lawmaker, who represents Florida's 27th congressional district, toured the facility with other legislators over the weekend where she got a firsthand look at the conditions. "I thought that it was a mistake from the authorities not allowing us to talk them," she told "Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones on Tuesday. "I was able to shout in Spanish. There were around 40 of them in shackles, and I tried to talk with them and ask them… 'How are they treating you?' One of them said, 'Pretty good.' Another one said, 'Not so bad,' but I really wanted to engage. They did not let me." Salazar was able to go inside one of the cages and sit on one of the beds provided for inmates. Though she acknowledged that "no one likes to be inside" cages, she described the ones available as "clean" and the beds as "soft." "They had three metal toilets with a little wall to cover people when they're doing their business. They had two telephones where they can call their attorneys or loved ones," she recalled. "Then they took us to another recreational area, also caged in… with some grass where they could run or do some exercise…. It meets the highest standards for any federal facility that we've done," she added. Other areas contained Spanish Bibles and other religious materials. A separate space where inmates can sit with their attorneys is also provided, she comments — and the tour — come on the heels of Democratic lawmakers recently characterizing the facility as "as bad as it can be."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz slammed the detention center as an "internment camp" after visiting on Saturday, saying the conditions witnessed inside the building were "appalling." Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., called the center a "cruel political stunt" and a "spectacle of political theater."
