HRANA News Agency – In the women’s ward of Evin prison where many prisoners are mothers, the authorities still do not provide phone calls for prisoners, prison visits are limited and there are many environmental problems in this place. This report gives a general overview of the conditions and the names of 25 women political prisoners.
What you will read, is a general report and overview of the situation of the women’s ward of Evin prison, plus an exclusive list of political prisoners, including the duration of their imprisonment and other specifications.
According to HRANA’s sources, the women’s ward of Evin prison has three rooms and a kitchen about 25 square meters, with 2 ordinary gas stove each of which has four burners.
Women’s ward with a variable number of prisoners is facing a shortage of beds and “hard floor sleeping”. In some months of the year (around June) the number of prisoners increases dramatically. Prisoners face specific problems due to lack of urban gas especially during the winter.
In the women’s ward of Evin prison, its inhabitants, especially the mothers are not allowed to have telephone contact with the outside world which is very annoying. If they request a phone call, prisoners are forced to write frequent letters to the relevant departments in prison and the process may take two months to achieve some results.
Women’s ward of Evin Prison is lacking cultural and leisure amenities and only has a library of books prepared by the prisoners themselves.
In this ward everywhere and in all areas except health service CCTVs have been installed.
Visiting time for the women’s ward of Evin prison is on Sundays for 15 to 20 minutes in a cabin behind the window by phone. Close visit is possible with the approval of the prosecutor and generally takes place between four to six weeks in a large public hall.
It should be noted that the security forces of the prison react to publishing any reports about the status of this ward by cutting off appointments or visits of the political prisoners of this ward. In fact prison authorities use prison visits as a tool to keep prisoners of conscience silenced.
Outdoor times in prison yard is from 9 am to 5 pm and is reduced during the winter.
Prisoners are facing serious feeding problems in this ward. Women living in the women’s ward prefer dry rations (food purchased by the prisoners) due to the low quality of the food distributed in prison, however they have also faced poor standards of food hygiene, lack and decay of food as well as the lack of availability of necessary food but high prices of food in the prison shop.
The prisoners are denied adequate rations of red meat and it has happened that the white meat distributed was also rotten and dated for the past few months. Such issues caused long-term problems by various diseases such as anemia and so among the residents of this ward.
The following is the last list of political-security prisoners of women’s ward of Evin prison:
1. Sedigheh Moradi
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
Sentence: 10 years in prison
Medical conditions: with multiple diseases
Description: Experienced imprisonment in the 1980s, a parole request has been sent to the Supreme Court but has so far remained unanswered.
2. Fatemeh Muthana
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
The first verdict: 15 years in prison
Medical conditions: she suffers from mental illness and neurological diseases
Description: three years in prison at the age of 13 which she has experienced in the ’80s, a while ago her husband was also arrested in prison meeting hall due to the political activity and was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison.
3. Zahra Zehtabchy
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
Sentence: 10 years in prison
Medical conditions: spending long term in in solitary confinement caused her serious physical problems
Description: arrest record in 2009 as well.
4. Reyhaneh Haj Ebrahim Dabbagh
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
Sentence: 15 years in prison
Medical conditions: bowel disease, colitis and foot discomfort
Description: was arrested along with her husband in 2009 Ashura, Ahmad Daneshvar and her father-in-law and her mother. She has repeatedly demanded non-use of handcuffs when she is sent to the hospital due to bone illness because her neck is incapable of using handcuffs as well as her husband who is suffering from multiple illnesses in Ward 350 of Evin prison and has been sentenced to the death. Mr. Daneshvar’s father has also been sentenced to death for political activities.
5. Maryam Akbari Monfared
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
The first sentence: 15 years in prison
Description: her brother Hamidreza Akbari Monfared is also for similar charges in Rajai Shahr prison.
6. Behnaz Zakeri Ansari
Charges: waging war against the state by working with an opposition group
Sentence: 10 years in prison
Medical conditions: severe nerve problems
7. Bahareh Hedayat
Charges: propaganda against the state, assembly and collusion against national security, insulting the Supreme Leader and the president, roorback.
Sentence: 2 years in prison
Description: student activist, a member of the OCU and the leadership of the students movement in Iran, who in the first case was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months and at the end of her sentence her freedom was also prevented and a 2-year suspended prison sentence was implemented.
8. Narges Mohammadi
Charges: propaganda against the regime, acting against national security through membership in illegal groups, gathering and collusion and forming an illegal group.
Sentence: 7 years imprisonment
Medical conditions: suffering from pulmonary embolism, and crippling muscle disease.
Description: Civil society activist and women’s rights activist was detained for human rights activities, participating in protests against acid attack, a speech at the tomb of Sattar Beheshti.
9. Fariba Kamal Abadi
Charges: setting up an illegal organization and development of the Baha’i community
Sentence: 10 years in prison
Description: one of the 7 members of the Board of Baha’i leaders known as the “Yaran-e Iran”
10. Nasim Bagheri
Charges: propaganda against the system and acting against national security through membership in an illegal Institute (virtual university of Baha’is)
Sentence: 4 years in prison
Description: professor of the Virtual University of Baha’is in Iran
11. Reyhaneh Tabatabai
Charges: propaganda against the state
Sentence: six months in prison and six months suspended sentence.
Description: journalist and political activist who was arrested because of reporting the tenth presidential elections protests in Iran.
12. Faran Hesami
Charges: propaganda against the system and acting against national security through membership in an illegal Institute.
Sentence: 4 years in prison
Imprisoned since almost 4 years ago.
Description: Baha’i citizen and the teacher of Baha’i Institute of Higher Education, her husband was recently released from prison.
13. Mahvash Shahriari Sabet
Charges: setting up an illegal organization and development of the Baha’i community.
Sentence: 10 years in prison
Medical conditions: diseases of joints and osteoporosis
Description: One of the 7 members of the Baha’i leaders known as the “Yaran-e Iran”
14. Nasim (Maryam) Naghsh Zargaran
Charges: gathering and acting against national security through establishment of house churches
Sentence: 4 years in prison
Time in prison: 2 years
Medical conditions: heart disease, ASD and record of heart surgery
Description: was arrested in Pastor Saeed Abedini’s case.
15. Elham Farahani
Charges: acting against national security through membership in the Baha’i administration
Sentence: 4 years in prison
Description: her husband, Adel Naimi and her son Shamim Naimi have been convicted and are in prison on similar charges.
16. Azita Rafizadeh
Charges: propaganda against the system and acting against the national security through membership in an illegal Institute.
Sentence: 5 years in prison
Description: Baha’i citizen and the teacher of Baha’i Institute of Higher Education, her husband, Peyman Kooshk Baghi was sentenced to five years in prison on similar charges.
17. Tahereh Jafari
Charges: propaganda against the state
The first sentence: 1 year
Medical conditions: has suffered from heart problems and a slipped disc and doctors of the prosecutor after her request for punishment intolerance on her arrival at the prison have confirmed that she needs constant care and every three months should be sent to the hospital for treatment.
18. Athena Farghadani
Charges: assembly and collusion, propaganda against the regime, insulting the authorities and members of parliament, infrared adultery fornication
Sentence: 7 years and 9 months
Description: Civil society activist, critical cartoonist
19. Fahimeh Orfi
Charges: gathering and collusion, blasphemy
Sentence: 5 years
Description: Erfan-e-Halgheh teacher, was in Qarchak prison and then transferred to Evin prison
20. Ziba Pour Habib
Charges: gathering and collusion, blasphemy
Sentence: 3 years
Description: Erfan-e-Halgheh teacher, was in Qarchak prison and then transferred to Evin prison
21. Elham Barmaki
Charges: espionage
Sentence: 7 years in prison
Description: Iranian-Cypriots citizen
22. Roya Saberi Nezhad Nobakht
Charges: blasphemy and insulting the heads of judiciary
Sentence: 5 years in prison
Medical conditions: seizures and panic attacks
Description: cyber activists, spent more than a year and a half imprisonment in Qarchak Prison. Last April she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin prison, Iranian-British citizen
23. Nazok Afshar
Charges: Unknown
Sentence: undecided
Initial court: Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court
Description: Iranian-French citizen, earlier arrested in the summer of 2009 as a result of employment in the cultural sector of the French Embassy and later was released and had returned to France.
24. Shokoofeh Azar Masooleh
Charges: propaganda against the regime, assembly and collusion with intention to disrupt national security.
Sentence: 2 years in prison
Description: is free on the bail until the appeal court
25. Atena Daemi
Charges: conspiring against the regime, insulting the leadership, propaganda against the state
Sentence: 7 years imprisonment
Description: is free on the bail of 600 million tomans until the appeals court