Reports indicate that at noon on that Saturday, prison guards, referred to as Khamenei’s mercenaries, brutally attacked and opened fire on unarmed women inmates who had gathered for a peaceful commemoration. According to sources from the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the unprovoked assault left at least 20 inmates injured.
These women had assembled to mark the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death and to voice their grievances against the harrowing conditions prevalent within the prison walls. However, their non-violent demonstrations were countered by guards using pellet guns, causing grievous harm. Furthermore, several other inmates faced physical assaults from the guards.
The aftermath of this severe onslaught was even more alarming. Numerous prisoners were subjected to harsh beatings, taken forcibly from the general ward, and thrown into solitary confinement. The ordeal further intensified when fires broke out in parts of the prison, spreading across multiple wards.
Located in a secluded area, Qarchak Prison, also known as Shahr-e Ray Prison, is notorious for its appalling conditions. Housing over 2,000 inmates, many are forced to endure deplorable living conditions, from urine-soaked floors, poor ventilation, filthy restrooms, to the consumption of unsanitary water and substandard food riddled with debris. Making matters worse, the prison’s isolated location and severed phone lines make it almost impossible for those inside to communicate their plight to the outside world.
Iranian opposition President-elect Maryam Rajavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has expressed her vehement condemnation of this egregious assault on the women of Qarchak Prison. She has urgently reached out to global organizations, including the UN’s various human rights bodies, appealing for swift intervention.
Qarchak Prison in Varamin, formerly an industrial chicken farm in the deserts of eastern Tehran, holds the grim distinction of being the sole all-women penitentiary in Iran. Here, women, irrespective of the nature of their crimes, are incarcerated together, blending political detainees with common prisoners and dangerous felons.
This latest incident at Qarchak Prison underscores the urgent need for global awareness and intervention concerning the human rights abuses within Iran’s detention centers. The international community must heed the call and ensure the safety and dignity of those imprisoned under such distressing conditions.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
