Qarchak Prison in Varamin is not merely a site of incarceration for women; it has become a tool for exerting double pressure on their families as well. The regime ruling Iran employs restrictions, threats, and ongoing humiliation to ensure that not only prisoners but also their families are trapped in a cycle of fear and repression. This dual policy – torturing prisoners inside while persecuting their families outside – represents one of the less visible but devastating dimensions of human rights violations in Iran.
Visitation as a Tool of Humiliation
Visits in Qarchak rarely take place in a humane manner:
• Families frequently face sudden cancellations of visits. After traveling long distances to the prison, they are denied access without explanation.
• When visits occur, families – particularly women and girls – are subjected to degrading body searches.
• Prison authorities often prevent the delivery of essential items such as medicine, warm clothing, or basic necessities.
This situation not only inflicts psychological stress on prisoners but also humiliates their families, leaving them powerless.
Threats and Arrest of Relatives
Families who publicize conditions of prisoners or become active on social media face threats and arrests:
• Security forces have summoned relatives for interrogation.
• Families who contacted media or human rights organizations faced fabricated judicial cases.
• Even children and teenagers have not been spared from these pressures.
Such actions blatantly violate Article 19 of the ICCPR, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to information.
Economic and Financial Pressure
Prisoners in Qarchak are forced to buy essentials such as drinking water, medicine, and safe food from the prison store at exorbitant prices – costs that fall on their families:
• Bottled water sold at 40 times the market price.
• Basic medicine, even simple painkillers, sold at several times higher cost.
• Fresh food rarely available, requiring families to supply items at heavy financial burden.
For many families already struggling in difficult economic circumstances, these costs are crushing.
Judicial Tools for Harassing Families
The judiciary uses legal mechanisms to intensify family pressure:
• Imposing excessive and unrealistic bail for medical furloughs or temporary release.
• Threatening families with bond confiscation if they report conditions or protest.
• Fabricating cases to obstruct justice efforts.
These measures are not only contrary to fair trial principles but amount to hostage-taking of families by the judiciary.
Psychological Abuse and Humiliation
Women political prisoners in Qarchak have repeatedly reported that guards threaten them with cutting off visits or canceling furloughs, directly impacting their mental state. For prisoners, family contact remains their only lifeline to the outside world.
Families themselves face verbal abuse and degrading treatment in prison courtyards or at entry checkpoints. These encounters are part of a deliberate strategy to break family morale and sever the support link between families and prisoners.
Specific Examples
- Families of political prisoners have reported repeated cancellation of weekly visits without explanation.
• In one case, the young daughter of a prisoner suffered a panic attack after a degrading body search.
• Families of well-known prisoners, including Maryam Akbari Monfared and Zahra Safaie, have repeatedly faced summons and direct threats due to their efforts at public reporting.
Legal Analysis
Pressure on families of political prisoners violates multiple fundamental human rights norms:
• Article 7 of the ICCPR: Prohibition of torture and degrading treatment, extending to family members.
• Article 9 of the ICCPR: Ban on arbitrary detention (applicable to summoned or arrested relatives).
• Article 19 of the ICCPR: Right to freedom of expression and information.
• Article 23 of the UDHR: Protection of the family as the fundamental unit of society.
• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Special protection for children against psychological harm and violation of their parents’ rights.
Human and Social Impact
The policy of targeting families has broad human and social consequences:
• Families live in constant anxiety and instability.
• Children of political prisoners grow up deprived of parents while facing psychological trauma.
• Society receives a clear message: resistance brings punishment not only for the individual but also their family.
• This strategy spreads fear and deepens mistrust across society.
Conclusion and Call to Action
The double pressure on women prisoners and their families in Qarchak is an inseparable part of the regime’s machinery of repression. Its purpose is to break resistance and silence voices of justice, and it constitutes a blatant violation of human rights.
We call on the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all organizations defending family and child rights to:
• Recognize the persecution of families of political prisoners in Iran as part of systematic human rights violations.
• Apply diplomatic pressure to end threats and harassment of families.
• Officially document family testimonies for international prosecution of regime officials.
