12 December 2024 :
December 10, 2024 - IRAN - Qarchak Prison Report: Hell for Women and Children in Iran
IHR reiterates its demand for the immediate closure of Qarchak Prison and the transfer of all prisoners to facilities that meet minimum international standards.
To mark World Human Rights Day (10 December), IHR is publishing a report on Qarchak Women’s Prison in Tehran province. This shocking report only reveals a part of the atrocities that are taking place in Qarchak Prison. We invite you to read the testimonies of human rights activists and former political prisoners.
Qarchak Prison in Varamin (Tehran province) has become one of the darkest symbols of systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Originally designed as a poultry farm, the facility has been transformed into an inhumane detention centre for women prisoners, including political prisoners. The conditions in this prison not only violate international principles such as the Bangkok Rules and the Nelson Mandela Rules but also disregard the most basic principles of human dignity.
At Qarchak, women are confined in extremely cramped spaces with inadequate ventilation and lighting. They endure unsanitary drinking water, poor-quality food, lack of adequate healthcare services, and degrading, gender-based treatment as part of their daily suffering. Qarchak is not only a prison filled with violence and abuse but also, due to severe overcrowding and lack of basic facilities, many prisoners are deprived even of sleeping space, forced to sleep on the floor.
The prison is also a glaring symbol of violations against women and mothers. Mothers whose children stay with them in this hazardous and polluted environment until the age of two when they are taken into state care. Often, these mothers have no means to find out about their children’s fate. Undocumented children born in this prison are caught in a cycle of deprivation and injustice from the moment they are born.
IHR Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated: “Qarchak Prison is a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity. The continued operation of such facilities is a stain on the conscience of the world. Today, more than ever, we must call on the international community not to remain silent in the face of such widespread human rights violations.”
By publishing this report, IHR reiterates its demand for the immediate closure of Qarchak Prison and the transfer of all prisoners to facilities that meet minimum international standards. The existence of such places, especially in the 21st century, is a stark reminder that justice and human dignity are still sacrificed in many parts of the world.
We call on the international community, human rights organisations, and all conscientious individuals to take action to close down Qarchak Prison. This should not merely be seen as a domestic issue; it is a test for the international community to unite in defending human dignity and rights. The closure of Qarchak Prison is a necessary step toward securing prisoners’ rights and a symbol of global commitment to justice and humanity.
Acknowledgement. We are indebted to the female political prisoners exiled to Qarchak Prison as punishment, who chose to be the voice of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable women serving time for ordinary crimes in Iran. The courageous women who shed light on the dark realities of Qarchak Prison ask Iran’s civil society and the international community to fight for the humane treatment of prisoners convicted of ordinary crimes and the permanent closure of Qarchak Prison. No civil or political activist should be in any prison, especially in a hellhole like Qarchak Prison.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/7185/
https://iranhr.net/media/files/Qarchak_Prison_Report_EN-.pdf
