Three 3 political prisoners, Marzieh Nasseri, Azam Gholami, and Sakineh Parvaneh, have been detained in the women’s ward of the Central Prison of Mashhad for several months without standing trial.
Marzieh Nasseri (aka Sara) and Azam Gholami were arrested during the nationwide Iran uprising in 2022-2023.
The 3 political prisoners are detained in Ward 5 of the Central Prison of Mashhad (aka Vakilabad Prison) among ordinary prisoners and violent criminals, in violation of the principle of separation of crimes. They are constantly mistreated, harassed, and pressured by prison authorities and the guards.
According to reliable reports, the 3 political prisoners are deprived of access to medical treatment. They are detained in an unsanitary environment and deprived of medical facilities.
A reliable source in the Central Prison of Mashhad reported that on the night of August 20, Sakineh Parvaneh had a nervous shock due to the intense pressure put on her. She has been detained for over five months in uncertain conditions.
Who is Marzieh (Sara) Nasseri?
Sara Nasseri, a 41-year-old woman from Mashhad, was arrested on December 6, 2022, by security forces during the Iran uprising.
She was confined in solitary at the Department of Intelligence of Mashhad for 20 days, and subsequently transferred to the quarantine of the Central Prison of Mashhad (Vakilabad Prison).
Ms. Nasseri is accused of collaboration with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Despite the completion of her interrogations, she remains in detention. Her interrogator, Mohsen Gol-Mohammadi Tavallaii, opposes her release on bail.
Marzieh Nasseri’s case is being investigated in Branch 904 of the Prosecutor’s Office of Mashhad. Her charges include “propaganda against the state” and “distributing protest flyers.”
Who is Azam Gholami?
Political prisoner Azam Gholami, 35, has languished in confinement for over 10 months, held in an uncertain state. Security forces arrested her in front of her Qasem Abad residence in Mashhad during the height of the nationwide protests in October 2022. Her home was subjected to a search, and several personal possessions were confiscated.
She was subsequently taken to the detention center of the Intelligence Department of Mashhad. Following a period of relentless interrogation that spanned more than two months, she was transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence Ward within the Central Prison of Mashhad, also known as Vakil Abad Prison.
Political prisoner Azam Gholami faces allegations of affiliation and collaboration with the primary Iranian opposition force, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). These accusations were lodged within Branch 904 of the Mashhad Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, overseen by investigator Mohsen Gol-Mohammadi. Regrettably, she has been denied access to legal counsel throughout this process. Despite her circumstances, prison authorities refuse to grant her release on bail pending trial.
Who is Sakineh Parvaneh?
Sakineh Parvaneh, a Kurdish citizen from Quchan, was arrested on April 4, 2023, for the second time in one month. She had been arrested on March 7, 2023, and released after four days.
Sakineh Parvaneh was born in 1988. In early autumn of 2019, security agents arrested her because she had visited her family in Soleimaniya, in the Kurdistan of Iraq.
She was detained for ten days in the detention centers of Marivan and Sanandaj. She was subsequently transferred to the Evin Prison in Tehran. She underwent harsh interrogations under psychological and physical torture in Ward 2A, Ward 209, and the women’s ward of Evin. During this time, she was deprived of having visitations.
In March 2020, after she wrote graffiti on the walls of Evin, she was sent to the notorious Qarchak Prison, where she was detained in solitary confinement for four days with handcuffs and footcuffs.
Then, prison guards took her to Aminabad Psychiatric Hospital in Shahr-e Rey. After 25 days in Aminabad, the resistant Kurdish prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh was returned to the quarantine ward of Qarchak Prison.
On May 25, 2020, she went on a hunger strike to protest, being sentenced to 5 years in prison and detained in conditions where the category of their crimes did not separate prisoners.
On July 4, 2020, she was returned to Evin Prison while bearing scars and bruises from being beaten. In August, she was sentenced to another two years for “rioting in prison.”
The resistant Kurdish prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh went on a hunger strike several times in Evin. On October 27, 2020, she was relocated from the women’s ward of Evin to the Prison of Quchan. She was sent to a solitary cell on November 9, 2020, in response to her hunger strike since October 31 in protest of her possible relocation again to the Prison of Isfahan.
On the eighth day of her hunger strike, she sewed her lips. But in these same conditions, she was brutalized and beaten by guards.
On December 13, 2020, Sakineh Parvaneh was taken from Quchan Prison to the Central Prison of Mashhad, where she was deprived of family visitation and banned from calling home.
The IRGC pressured Ms. Parvaneh to make forced confessions against herself.
The resistant Kurdish prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh was serving the fourth year of her sentence when she was released from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad on February 15, 2023.
According to reports on social media, the IRGC confiscated her registration documents about four years ago.
Despite her release from prison, her documents were not returned to her. As a result, Ms. Parvaneh faced difficulties in basic aspects of her life, such as renting a house, finding employment, purchasing a mobile phone SIM card, and other essential matters.
