More Brutal Than ‘Godforsaken Hell’: Prisoner Tweets Details Of Iran Prison Abuse

In a series of tweets Wednesday, civil and labor rights activist and author Sepideh Gholian(link is external), currently on furlough from prison in Bushehr province, made detailed allegation of abuse of prisoners in the women’s ward. Gholian wrote that she had received no response to reporting 20 cases to the authorities, including five she had described in tweets.

“I knew I would face a godforsaken hell when I was banished to this prison last year,” wrote 25-year-old Gholian, who was sent to Bushehr prison in early March from Evin prison in Tehran. “But I couldn’t even imagine the brutality reigning in this prison.”

Gholian was first arrested in 2019 after taking part in protests in Dezful and is serving a five-year sentence for ‘disrupting public order’ and ‘assembly and collusion against national security.’ She wrote a memoir about her time in Sepidar prison in her native Khuzestan province, which was published by Iran Wire(link is external)  in June 2020.

In her tweets Wednesday, Gholian changed the names of the inmates in her tweets(link is external) for their own safety.

When ‘Sahar’ used a shower out of hours, a warden forced her to strip, hosed her down in open space, while everyone else was forced to watch and boo, Gholian wrote: “You would be deprived of the right to make phone calls if you averted your eyes from the scene. Tens of eyes, in shock and anger, stared at the shivering naked woman.”

Gholian also alleged that the warden of the prison arranges for sending women such as Ameneh to men’s wards for sex under the name of “temporary marriage”. A temporary marriage (sigheh) is a contract for sex for a specific time, hours or even years. According to the Shia sharia laws, children born of such marriages are legally recognized if the contract is documented. Temporary marriage is permitted in addition to the four legal wives that a man can have.

Source: Iran International

Also Read: Sexual Harassment And Torture: Amnesty Verdict On Iran Prison Videos

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