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In the Greater Tehran Prison, solitary confinement as a punishment has been replaced with incarceration in large holding cells, designed for 20 prisoners, but now crammed with 60 to 70 people. There is no access to ventilation or direct sunlight and prisoners can be starved and held under these awful conditions for weeks, until their will is finally broken. Only then, after they have signed a commitment to repent their political views and have been forced to bow and grovel to the guards, are they returned to the public wards of the prison. This is what former EU lawmaker Struan Stevenson wrote in his article that was published<\/a> in the United Press International (UPI) on November 2, 2020.<\/p>\n By Struan Stevenson<\/strong><\/p>\n Political prisoners in Tehran are being systematically starved by the authorities to break their will and force them to repent. Terrified of another uprising that could sweep the theocratic dictatorship from power, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Chief of the Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi<\/a>, have ordered a severe crackdown on all inmates jailed for opposing the mullahs\u2019 regime. Thousands are now suffering from severe food shortages. Eggs have been removed from prison diets and prisoners are now given only 10 to 12 spoonfuls of low-quality rice daily. The rice is said to be stinking and rotten. Prisoners can purchase additional food at vastly inflated prices, but few can afford this luxury. Even the water supply in Tehran\u2019s prisons is contaminated, forcing prisoners to buy bottles of water at the punitive cost of 30,000 rials, or $0.70c per bottle. Many prisoners have no source of income whatsoever and having been the main breadwinners for their household, have left their families destitute and without income or food. The mental stress caused by their plight is used as a further source of torture by the venally corrupt prison officials.<\/p>\n In the Greater Tehran Prison, solitary confinement as a punishment has been replaced with incarceration in large holding cells, designed for 20 prisoners, but now crammed with 60 to 70 people. There is a single toilet in the corner of each holding cell, obscured by a filthy curtain. The stench from the toilet constantly permeates the entire cell. There is no access to ventilation or direct sunlight and prisoners can be starved and held under these awful conditions for weeks, until their will is finally broken. Only then, after they have signed a commitment to repent their political views and have been forced to bow and grovel to the guards, are they returned to the public wards of the prison. There, at least they are allowed to go outside every morning into the sunlight from 7am to 8am, while a head count is undertaken.<\/p>\n Much of the information on the brutal conditions in Tehran\u2019s medieval prisons has come from an audio file and letters smuggled out of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary by the fearless political prisoner Soheil Arabi, an Iranian blogger who was sentenced to death in 2013 for insulting the Prophet Mohammad in several Facebook postings. His sentence was commuted to a lengthy jail term and two years of mandatory study of Islamic theology. Arabi was awarded the Press Freedom Prize by Reporters Without Borders for his courageous attempts to draw attention on social media to the plight of Atena Daemi, the young female civil and children\u2019s rights activist, who has faced repeated torture and beatings and is serving a fourteen-year sentence for distributing anti-death penalty leaflets. Arabi has himself been subjected to repeated torture and beatings by the authorities for exposing the Iranian regime\u2019s deplorable prison conditions. After he smuggled out his audio tape and letters denouncing the prison system to his family, his mother, Farangis Mazloum Soheil, was arrested and charged with \u201cassembly and collusion with the intention of committing crime through contacting the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI\/MEK<\/a>)\u201d and for \u201cdisseminating propaganda against the state and in favour of dissident groups.\u201d Despite her frailty and poor health, she was severely tortured under interrogation and sentenced to 18-months imprisonment. Meanwhile, on 21st October, her son, Soheil Arabi, has been transferred to solitary confinement in Ward 2A of the notorious Evin Prison, Tehran, where he has once again been subjected to severe torture.<\/p>\n Soheil Arabi\u2019s bravery in exposing the inhumane prison conditions in Iran included a detailed description of the looting and rape that continues daily, with the full connivance of the prison guards. Arabi says that extortionist gangs and thieves, prey on newcomers in Tehran\u2019s jails, robbing them of any possession and often raping them. He says that this behaviour is not only tolerated, but openly encouraged by the prison guards and wardens. Monthly inspections are particularly cruel and sadistic. Military personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC<\/a>) \u2013 the regime\u2019s Gestapo, assist prison officials in searching prisoners\u2019 cells and belongings, breaking dishes and flasks and responding to even the slightest complaint from a prisoner with violent beatings. Prisoners have been ordered not to look directly at the face of any soldiers during these inspections, presumably to avoid identification. Those who break this rule by raising their head are beaten unconscious with batons.<\/p>\n My new article: — STRUAN STEVENSON (@STRUANSTEVENSON) November 2, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nRead the full text below:<\/h3>\n
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"The scandal of #Iran<\/a>'s prisons: torture & starvation"#WeStand4FreeIran<\/a> #HumanRights<\/a> #MEK<\/a> @SecPompeo<\/a> @EP_President<\/a> @USElliottAbrams<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/lyrjJLJntM<\/a> via @upi<\/a><\/p>\n