Prison reports

From NoU1

to Letters from Iran

date: 01st July 2000

I summarized the report about prisoners:

Most of prisoner's families haven’t got any news from them.

Lots of them arrested in ordinary situations not in demonstrations and as I told you without any official letters. Some of them arrested savagely at night raids when they were in bed. Some of them are too young: about 14 or 15 years old.

There were an African and a Turkish among prisoners they even couldn’t speak Persian!!

A man had been taking his pregnant wife to hospital when they took him. There isn’t enough space for new prisoners in “Evin” prison. Several people are kept in every cell. They haven’t enough space for sleeping. It’s very dangerous for health.

From the moment they arrest somebody till the moment he/she enters Evin there are several torture stations: police centers, basij centers, information ministry prisons…

When they arrived in prison the forces torture them terribly by electric shock and beating them by baton, chain, thick cable …

An eye witness said about one who was shot by a basiji and he had been suffering in prison without medical cares. Some of them are ill and need their own medication. They broke a young mans’ nose when he said “I need a doctor”, one of them kicked his face again.

There were lots of sexual tortures, but it’s hard for prisoners to talk about them. Just some women said they hurt by glass bottle- a kind of rape-!!!

Interrogations are very long, 4-12 hours. They ask every thing, address, phone number, friends’ numbers and addresses, email address…

The worst thing is they often make those tortures for mocking prisoners and for fun!!They broke left side of prisoners’ head then they broke the other side to make his head symmetrical then they laugh a lot!!

One witness reported about handcuffs which were tightly fastened, thus injuring his wrist.

There was one toilet in every cell in an unknown prison, in basement of country ministry. Students of Tehran University were taken there. They said every body had 30 seconds time to use toilet!! Using more led to mocking, beating and sexual tortures (probably for fun!!)

In one of prisons they force prisoners to sit on the floor for 4 days, if any body fell asleep they beat his head by baton.

Most of prisoners who released have at least a broken wrist, arm, leg or rib. On their back there are obvious livid signs of cable, chain and baton.

I’m not going to add any explanation to this report from released prisoners. It’s clear enough!!!