Since a change in the management of Qarchak women’s prison near Tehran, ideological pressure on political prisoners have increased including the parading of a 30-year-old war corpse in front of political prisoners.
According to the Human Rights News Agency, the recently appointed female head of Qarchak Prison, Soghra Khodadadi, has even informed female political prisoners that she has ordered “chadors”, a head to toe covering, for them.
The report said prison authorities installed posters of deceased soldiers of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war in the main hallways of the sections yesterday. A corpse of a war “martyr” was then paraded in the prison including outside the political prisoners’ section.
“This is to atone for your sins,” Khodadadi told the prisoners.
Qarchak Prison is notorious for its horrid reports of addiction, sexual assaults, and the brutal beating of inmates, which holds approximately 2,000 women and some children. There have been reports of suicides in the prison, as the only option for the women to rid themselves of the horrific conditions.
Women are under pressure and are sexually assaulted. Qarchak Prison guards mistreat and abuse women while using degrading profanities and insults. Reports indicate most prisoners were suffering from psychological problems.
