Sixty-year-old political prisoner Shiva Esmaeli, a retired agricultural engineer and mother of several children, remains detained in the women’s ward of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, where she is being denied phone calls and in-person visits with her family. The Iranian regime’s treatment of Shiva Esmaeli is a violation of international humanitarian laws.
Shiva Esmaeli, born in 1965 in Tehran, was arrested in November 2020 and transferred to Evin Prison. On May 14, 2023, she was sentenced to ten years in prison by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of “assembly and collusion.” Her trial was conducted without the presence of legal counsel, depriving her of the right to a defense. The verdict was formally issued to her on May 28, 2023.
In addition to Shiva’s imprisonment, two of her sons, Seyed Mehdi Vafaee Sani and Seyed Alireza Vafaee Sani, are also incarcerated in Evin Prison. Mehdi is serving a six-year sentence, while Alireza is serving five years.
Despite her dire situation, prison authorities have repeatedly denied Shiva Esmaeli the right to visit or communicate with her family under various pretexts. These actions contravene several international human rights conventions that protect prisoners’ access to their families.
The denial of familial contact, a key aspect of psychological well-being for detainees, further highlights the regime’s disregard for basic human rights. Advocacy groups continue to call for international attention to Shiva Esmaeli’s plight and that of other political prisoners suffering similar treatment.
This case exemplifies the broader human rights abuses in Iran’s prisons, underscoring the urgent need for reform and accountability within the clerical regime.
