Exile to the Hell of Fashafouyeh and Qarchak – A Disaster in Progress
At 11 a.m. on Monday, June 23, 2025, Evin Prison was targeted by airstrikes. While the bombing damaged several buildings, it also provided the ruling regime in Iran with a convenient pretext to advance its long-standing plan to gradually empty and decommission Evin. Instead of implementing protective measures for inmates, security and judicial authorities seized the moment to conduct a sudden, violent transfer of dozens of political prisoners—including women—to overcrowded and unsafe prisons such as Qarchak and the Greater Tehran Prison (Fashafouyeh).
These transfers were carried out without notifying the prisoners’ families or lawyers. The regime’s actions not only endangered the lives of inmates but appear to be a calculated step toward erasing the political prisoner population from the public and legal sphere through silent suppression.
Nighttime Evacuation of Evin under Threat and Force
On the night of June 23, 2025, all prisoners in wards 4, 7, and 8 of Evin—home to a significant number of political detainees—were forcibly loaded onto 20 buses and transferred to other prisons by heavily armed guards. The transfer was conducted without legal process and involved the Special Forces, with reports of resistance from inmates.
Most male prisoners were sent to Ward 3, Section 2 of the Greater Tehran Prison (Fashafouyeh), while female prisoners were transferred to the notorious Qarchak prison. A number of detainees were also sent to Ghezel Hesar Prison. Evin’s warden, Farzadi, did not even allow prisoners to collect their belongings. They were handcuffed, shackled, and transported with only minimal possessions. Some were unable to bring essential medications, a fact that has led to suffering among sick inmates.
Fashafouyeh Prison: Structural Torture in the ‘Hell’ of Greater Tehran
Fashafouyeh Prison—widely known as a site of grave human rights violations and a “hellhole” for political and ideological prisoners—has placed the newly transferred inmates in overcrowded rooms with 40 to 50 people sleeping on the floor without beds.
With its population exceeding official capacity by over threefold and a complete lack of basic services, Fashafouyeh is practically uninhabitable. Political, criminal, elderly, and juvenile prisoners are held together without classification, exposing vulnerable detainees to serious physical and psychological harm.
Food shortages are acute. Malnutrition has become widespread, with reports of fainting, low blood pressure, and extreme fatigue among inmates.
Sanitary conditions are disastrous: only one toilet and sink are available for every 70 to 80 prisoners, and one shower for every 90. The intense summer heat has triggered outbreaks of skin and infectious diseases.
The prison’s tap water is reportedly salty and undrinkable. Inmates must purchase bottled water from the prison shop, which is unaffordable for many.
Many of the transferred prisoners suffer from chronic conditions and urgently need specific medications. They are currently deprived of both medicine and any form of medical care. The prison’s infrastructure consists of metal-roofed warehouses that trap extreme heat. Without access to fans or cooling systems, prisoners—especially the elderly—suffer from heatstroke, dizziness, and severe health risks.
Qarchak Prison: Double Punishment for Political Women
Over 70 female political prisoners were transferred overnight to Qarchak Prison in Varamin, without prior notice or preparation. They now endure detention in windowless warehouse-like buildings, stripped of even the most basic human rights.
Qarchak is one of the most notorious women’s prisons in the Middle East, with rising concerns over abuse, illness, and the slow death of its inmates.
Many of the women have chronic illnesses and were denied the chance to bring medications, personal belongings, or medical records. They face restrictions on phone calls, are deprived of sanitary products, and suffer degrading treatment by guards. Some must work in the prison’s exploitative workshops under exhausting conditions to provide for their families.
As of now, no official information about the identities or legal status of these transferred women has been published in the Qarchak prison registry, raising serious fears about their safety and well-being.
Legal Analysis: Gross Violations of Human Rights
The forced transfer of political prisoners from Evin to general population prisons like Fashafouyeh and Qarchak—marked by severed communication, inhumane conditions, denial of access to legal counsel, and family disconnection—constitutes a clear violation of fundamental human rights and international obligations.
These acts breach multiple international standards, including:
- Articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): prohibiting torture and requiring humane treatment of prisoners.
- Convention Against Torture: transferring political prisoners to substandard facilities constitutes psychological and structural torture.
- UN Nelson Mandela Rules: requiring classification of prisoners, access to medical care, and right to family contact.
Human and Social Impact: Collective Trauma and Public Intimidation
For the families of political prisoners, the transfer has caused shock, anguish, and fear of death or torture. The regime’s actions are not only personal violations but also part of a broader campaign of fear aimed at society at large—signaling that even in times of international crisis, there will be no safety, oversight, or fair trial, and that silent elimination remains a real threat.
Conclusion and Call for Urgent Action
UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato posted on June 25:
“I’ve been receiving troubling reports of transfer of prisoners from Evin Prison during and after Israeli attacks… I am concerned about reports of arbitrary arrests and executions of activists, journalists, social media users and Afghan nationals since the Israeli attacks began, along with announcements of accelerated trials that violate due process.”
Based on documented evidence of the Evin Prison attack, the forced transfer of prisoners, and inhumane conditions in receiving facilities, we urgently call on:
- The United Nations to dispatch a special fact-finding mission to investigate the treatment, locations, and health of transferred inmates, as well as any signs of torture, enforced disappearance, or suspicious death
- The United Nations to press Iranian authorities to publish a verified list of all transferred prisoners, their exact locations, and physical and mental health status.
- International media and human rights networks to expose this crisis and break the deliberate media blackout imposed by the regime.
- An immediate halt to all forced and secret prisoner transfers, and international oversight of detention conditions across Iran.
