Political prisoners in Evin Prison are detained without trial for lengthy periods.
Nearly 400 days have passed since Nasim Gholami Simiyari was arrested and detained. She remains in the women’s ward of Evin Prison with her legal status still uncertain. Despite being arraigned three times on charges including “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” and “Bagh-ye” (armed insurgency), she has yet to face trial.
Two other political prisoners, Varisha Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, are also facing charges of “Bagh-ye” and have been held without trial. Ms. Moradi has been imprisoned for almost 330 days, while Ms. Azizi has been detained for approximately 320 days. All three women continue to endure prolonged detention without resolution.
Ms. Moradi suffers from several ailments, including joint and back pain, and is barely able to walk. She has also experienced severe weight loss since her arrest. In the last three months, she has been sent to the hospital outside the prison twice due to her illness, but she received no specialized treatment; hospital doctors only conducted examinations. Ms. Moradi urgently requires specialized medical treatment, including physiotherapy and numerous tests, which have not been provided so far.
Political Prisoner Nasim Gholami Simiyari
Last year, on May 18, 2023, agents from the IRGC Intelligence arrested Nasim Gholami Simiyari in one of Tehran’s streets.
They took her immediately to the IRGC’s Ward 1A and interrogated her in solitary confinement. After two months, she was transferred to Ward 2A and eventually sent to the women’s ward of Evin Prison on September 26, 2023.
She was subjected to mental and physical torture during the early months of arrest and forced to make televised confessions against herself. The confessions, dictated by her interrogator, are now being used against her.
After five months, she was arraigned on her charges at the courthouse of Evin Prison. She was accused of “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” and “Bagh-ye (i.e. armed rebellion).”
Nasim Gholami Simiyari was born on July 13, 1988. Her status remains undecided after one year in detention.
Detaining prisoners for lengthy periods under undecided conditions is a common practice under the clerical regime, but illegal according to the regime’s laws.
Political Prisoner Varisha Moradi
Varisha Moradi was abducted on August 1, 2023, in Kermanshah, on her way to Sanandaj in western Iran.
Varisha spent the first five months of incarceration in solitary confinement in the detention center of the Department of Intelligence in Sanandaj and Ward 209 in Evin Prison where she was viciously tortured to make false confessions against herself.
Varisha Moradi is a women’s rights activist and a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR). In a September 26 statement addressed to the public by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and international human rights organizations, KJAR said Varisha Moradi was in Kurdistan to carry out “political activities and organize women.”
Ms. Moradi has been denied the right to her chosen lawyer and due procedure. She was only allowed to call the lawyer after an indictment was issued.
Political Prisoner Pakhshan Azizi
Pakhshan Azizi is a journalist and a social worker. The Kurdish activist was arrested on August 4, 2023, in Shahrak-e Kharrazi, Tehran. Intelligence agents immediately took her to the Intelligence Ministry Ward 209 in Evin Prison.
Pakhshan Azizi, a graduate of Social Work from Tehran University, has been deprived of having contact or visits with her family and having access to legal representation.
Pakhshan Azizi was previously arrested on November 16, 2009, during a protest by Kurdish students at Tehran University against the execution of political prisoners in Kurdistan. She was released on March 19, 2010, on bail.
