Political prisoner Maryam Sadat Yahyavi has been deprived of her right to phone calls with her family for over 50 days. This ban was imposed on August 6, 2024, following the publication of a letter written by Maryam in support of fellow political prisoner, Pakhshan Azizi. The prison authorities, in response, ordered her to be cut off from phone contact. During these 50 days, she has only been granted a single cabin visit at the end of September.
Maryam Sadat Yahyavi was previously arrested on November 2, 2014, by Iranian security forces at her home. After the interrogation period, she was released on bail. However, the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to a total of 9 years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “assembly and collusion.” This sentence was later reduced to one year in prison during the appeals process.
On March 3, 2024, she was transferred to Evin Prison to begin serving her sentence.
The deprivation of phone calls and visits for female political prisoners in Evin Prison escalated after two protests held by these women in early August. The protests were in response to the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi and the execution of Reza Rasaei. On July 23 and August 6, 2024, the women prisoners in the women’s ward of Evin held protests, resulting in the authorities punishing 17 of them by cutting off their phone contact and in-person visits for one to three months.
The names of the political prisoners involved in these protests include Elaheh Fouladi, Pakhshan Azizi, Narges Mohammadi, Zahra Safaei, Maryam Asadollahi, Azam Khezri Javadi, Sarina Jahani, Mahboubeh Rezaii, Reyhaneh Ansari, Sakineh Parvaneh, Varisha Moradi, Golrokh Iraee, Parivash Moslemi, Samaneh Asghari, Houra Nikbakht, Maryam Sadat Yahyavi, and Sanaz Yekta.
Among these prisoners, Elaheh Fouladi has faced the harshest punishment. Since August 17, 2023, she has been barred from any phone calls or in-person visits for three months. Maryam Yahyavi was initially sentenced to a one-month ban on phone calls, but this punishment has been extended beyond its original term.
This article sheds light on the ongoing repression of women in Iranian prisons and the resistance they continue to show, even in the face of harsh and unjust punishments.
