Introduction
Recent credible information from inside Iran has revealed the existence of a secret prison in Shahin Shahr, Isfahan, operated under the guise of an industrial warehouse. This hidden detention center, managed by the clerical regime in Iran, is marked by severe human rights violations, including torture, inhuman treatment, and denial of basic necessities.
Detention Conditions
Prisoners held in this facility are subjected to systematic deprivation. Electricity and water are frequently cut for days, while the lack of cooling systems makes survival unbearable during the summer heat. Basic items such as refrigerators or communication devices are completely absent.
Food distribution is scarce and of extremely poor quality; on many days each prisoner receives no more than two loaves of bread and a small portion of inadequate food. Medical services are nonexistent. The only medications distributed are tranquilizers and methadone, effectively forcing prisoners into dependency rather than providing treatment.
Forced Labor
Although the facility is presented as a “prison labor site,” in practice it functions as a center of forced labor. Every morning around one hundred prisoners are transported in minibuses to external locations, where they are compelled to work under exploitative conditions. Inside the warehouse, inmates are also denied rest after five a.m., reinforcing a system of exhaustion and coercion.
Concealment and Lack of Oversight
The secret detention center is located next to the Behesht Akhavan biscuit factory in Shahin Shahr. Its warehouse-like appearance, surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, allows the regime to conceal its true function. Neither local residents nor nearby industrial workers are aware of its purpose, ensuring complete absence of public or judicial oversight.
Legal Status of the Prisoners
Reports indicate that many prisoners in this secret prison have already served large portions of their sentences and should be eligible for conditional release or suspended sentences. Instead, the prosecutor of Isfahan, exploiting Article 45, imposes new charges for minor infractions and issues additional death sentences, creating an environment of permanent fear and repression.
Human Rights Analysis
The conditions in this facility represent clear breaches of international human rights obligations:
- Article 3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Right to life, liberty, and security.
- Article 5: Prohibition of torture and cruel or degrading treatment.
- Article 9: Ban on arbitrary arrest and detention.
- Article 10: Right to a fair trial.
- Article 25: Right to an adequate standard of living, including food, healthcare, and medical attention.
Conclusion and Call for International Action
The operation of this secret prison by the IRGC-affiliated Cooperative Foundation demonstrates a systematic policy of concealment and repression within the clerical regime in Iran. Beyond violating the fundamental rights of prisoners, it reflects a broader machinery of abuse that sustains state-sponsored terror.
It is imperative for international human rights organizations, the UN Human Rights Council, and special rapporteurs on arbitrary detention and torture to immediately investigate and address this case. Allowing such secret prisons in Iran to persist unchallenged would legitimize the regime’s ongoing cycle of brutality. Coordinated global pressure remains vital to hold the regime accountable and to protect political prisoners and detainees from further abuse
