Qarchak Prison
Qarchak Prison (Persian: زندان قرچک, romanized: Zendân-e-Qarchak) is a prison for women located in Qarchak, in the Varamin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran (30 km SSE of the capital). It is also called Persian: زندان زنان ری, romanized: Rey Women Prison (Shahr-e Rey prison), “Gharchak Women’s Prison“, Rey Penitentiary or Varamin prison.
| |
| Location | Varamin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35.468°N 51.557°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Opened | 2010 |
| Managed by | Judicial system of Iran; IRGC |
| Warden | Mehdi Mohammadi |
| City | Talebabad, Tehran |
| County | Ray |
| Country | Iran |
| Notable prisoners | |
| Yasaman Aryani Atena Daemi Marjan Davari Atena Farghadani (2015-16) Ghoncheh Ghavami (2014) Bahareh Hedayat (Feb. 2020) Soheila Hejab Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee Zeynab Jalalian (April 2020-June 2020) Saba Kordafshari Leila (Khadijeh) Mirghafari Kylie Moore-Gilbert Sepideh Qolian Shaparak Shajarizadeh (2018) | |
Prisoners
The prison's seven sections contain more than 1400 prisoners, which is twice the nominal capacity.[1]
As of July 2020, 17 female political prisoners are being detained in Qarchak prison.[2]
On 23 May 2020, Soheila Hejab (Persian: سهیلا حجاب, romanized: Soheila Hijab), a 30-year-old law graduate sentenced to 18 years in prison for forming a group for women's rights and who had been summoned for that day to the Court of Appeals, was brutally arrested on leaving the hearing by IRGC agents, and taken to Qarchak.[3]
In June 2020, it was reported that political prisoners in Qarchak had been infected with covid-19.[4][5]
On 26 July 2020, the Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been moved from Evin to Qarchak.[6]
Reactions
Qarchak prison is listed under Section 106 of the US's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on the basis of extrajudicial killings, torture and other violations of human rights.[7]
References
- en-hrana.org (2 March 2020). "Qarchak Prison; a List of Political Prisoners and Prison Conditions". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- united4iran.org (14 April 2020). "Qarchak Prison - Varamin". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- iran-hrm.com (25 May 2020). "Human rights lawyer violently transferred to Qarchak Prison". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- iranhumanrights.org (14 July 2020). "Kurdish Political Prisoner Not Heard from for Weeks Since Announcing COVID Symptoms". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (21 April 2020). "COVID-19 Fear in Iran's Prisons: Iran Must Do More to Protect Prisoners". Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- iranhumanrights.org (28 July 2020). "Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert Moved to Notoriously Inhumane Prison in Iran as "Punishment"". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (1 June 2020). "Report to Congress List of Persons Who Are Responsible for or Complicit in Certain Human Rights Abuses in Iran". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 28 July 2020.