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We, human rights activists, committed to gender equality and respect for the rule of law, have been alarmed in recent days by the story reaching us from the women’s section of Evin prison. Arrested and arbitrarily detained solely because of their struggle for freedom and human rights in Iran, of all opinions, beliefs and generations, Evin’s female political prisoners would be around seventy currently. We consider as established the violence they claim to have suffered on August 6 at the hands of their jailers and the security forces who came in large numbers into the women’s prison on the same day. We assure them of the support of all our organizations and the citizens and activists who are involved on a daily basis.
According to our information, duly verified and corroborated by several independent media, on August 6, 2024, several female political prisoners were violently attacked and beaten by guards and security agents while protesting against the execution, in secret and at dawn, of Reza Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei, a demonstrator from the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, in the absence of prior information from his family and lawyer and after having been subjected to torture and forced confessions.
This unprecedented repression came at a time when the women had gathered in the prison courtyard and were peacefully exercising their freedom of expression, chanting slogans demanding the abolition of the death penalty and an immediate halt to all executions. The rally came in the continuation of a series of mobilizations, sometimes initiated, sometimes followed, by the women’s quarter to demand the cancellation of the death sentences of their cellmate, Pakhshan Azizi, an Iranian journalist of Kurdish origin, and three other Iranian women, Sharifeh Mohammadi, a workers’ rights activist, Varisheh Moradi, a women’s rights activist and Nasim Gholami Simiari.
Because of the violence of the blows and the wounds inflicted, several of them lost consciousness, while others were put in splints after a rudimentary examination by the prison doctor, without receiving adequate care. Even for the most serious cases, no transfer to a city hospital was authorized, depriving those concerned of appropriate emergency medical care.
Regaining consciousness, with determination and commitment, the political prisoners immediately declared their intention to file a complaint against their torturers, so as to ensure that no exaction goes unpunished.
In solidarity with those who continue to fight for the rule of law
With an increase in the internal repression of human rights activists and political dissidents, we are alarmed by the growing number of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic. These reached a climax on August 7, when 29 people were killed, including 26 in a collective execution at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj.
Behind closed doors, while media attention focuses on the Middle East’s warlike tendencies and escalating tensions, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues the first of the wars it has waged for decades: the war against women and opponents.
We, human rights activists, express our full solidarity with all the women who continue, at the risk of their lives, to fight for the rule of law, peace and democracy in Iran.
More than ever, the women’s quarter is asserting itself as a place of resistance and struggle for freedom. The women who are unfairly and illegally detained in Iran’s political prisons force our admiration as much as they call for our necessary mobilization.
Thus, in solidarity with all the women, but also all the men, who continue to fight for the rule of law, peace and democracy in Iran, we demand, in the name of our organizations :
- An immediate end to the death penalty, an inhuman and degrading punishment in Iran, in line with our commitment to the universal abolition of the death penalty and all executions ;
- The release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience arbitrarily detained, and
judicial proceedings in violation of the rights of the defense and the right to a fair trial ;
- The implementation of all measures, without delay, by the Iranian State to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the prisoners in its custody throughout the country, and in particular in the women’s section of Evin prison ;
- An independent international criminal investigation to shed full light on the violence committed against the women political prisoners in Evin prison, whose complaint must be received by the Iranian authorities.
SIGNATORIES : Narges Mohammadi Foundation (France) ; Shirin Ebadi, Peace Nobel Prize (Royaume-Uni) ; Pierre Haski, Reporters sans frontières (France) ; Vibe Klarup, Amnesty international Denmark (Danemark) ; Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) (Norvège) ; Chirinne Ardakani, Iran Justice (France) ; Düzen Tekkal et Mariam Claren, Hawar Help (Germany) ; Rose Parris Richter, Impact Iran (Suisse) ; Hadi Ghaemi, Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) (Etats-Unis) ; Pen international (Royaume-Uni) ; Stefan Löfven, The Olof-Palme Memorial Fund, Olof-Palmes Minnesfond (Suède) ; Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) (France) ; Hamid Cyrus, Médecins sans frontières (Autriche) ; Karim Lahidji, Fédération internationale des droits de l’homme (FIDH) (France) ; End Gender Apartheid Campaign (Etats-Unis) ; Maria Søndergaard, Danish Women’s Society (Danemark) ; Christine Stufferin, Alexander Langer Foundation (Italie) ; Elisabeth Nicoli, Alliance des femmes pour la démocratie (AFD) (France) ; Roya Boroumand, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (Etats-Unis) ; Rebin Rahmani, Kurdistan Human Rights Network (France) ; Fariba
Ehsan, Asociación Irani Pro Derechos Humanos (Espagne) ; Rezvan Moghadam, Stop Honor Killings (Etats-Unis) ; Shahin Helali Khyavi, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ) (Norvège) ; Gabriele Nissim, Gariwo (Italie) ; Darya Djavahery-Farsi, Neda d’Iran (France) ; Negin Khazaee and Rene Kassie, Queers and Feminists for Iran Liberation (France et Canada) ; Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Pen American (Etats-Unis) ; Moein Arjomand, Baloch Activists Campaign (Royaume-Uni) ; Taimoor Aliassi, Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G) (Suisse) ; Emma Dinparast, Azadi 4 Iran (France) ; Reza Ghazinouri, United for Iran (Etats-Unis) ; Hassan Nayeb Hashem, All Human Rights for All in Iran (Suisse) ; Shima Silavi, Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (Belgique) ; Hirbod Deghani-Azar, Norouz (France) ; Balochistan Human Rights Group (Suède) ; Faramarz Bahar, Comité indépendant contre la répression des citoyens iraniens Paris (France) ; Collectif Alborz FVL (France) ; Collectif Phénix (France) ; PEN Sweden (Suède) ; Jaleh Tabrizi, Association for Human Rights of Azerbaijanis in Iran (Arcdh) (France) ; Aban Families for Justice ; Masoud Raeisi, Rasank ; Zohreh Habibmohammadi, Collectif BA MA (France).