Narges Mohammadi’s Statements About Evin Prison Events

Last week, the shocking news of the Evin Prison fire shook the world. Various reports have been published from different media outlets, public reports, and more. But what does Narges Mohammadi say about the events at Evin Prison?

Narges Mohammadi is a human rights activist, political prisoner, former member of the Supreme Council for the Policy-Making of Reformists, and vice chair and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center. She is currently serving her sentence in Evin Prison.

In her statements, Narges Mohammadi acknowledged that a week before the fire, there were unusual activities in the ward. The door between the ward corridor and the staff corridor was closed and locked so that prisoners could not access the exit corridor. Three days before the incident, fire extinguisher capsules were removed from the ward under the pretext of recharging.

On Saturday, the 23rd of Mehr, the morning hospital transfers were canceled without any explanation. In the afternoon, the prison alarm sounded three times, which was unprecedented. At 9 p.m., the sudden sound of continuous gunfire from inside the prison shocked everyone.

A guard was shouting that if you don’t get inside, I’ll blow your brains out. The sounds of explosions, gunfire, death threats, and the horrifying screams of guards echoed throughout the ward. Suddenly, riot guards entered the courtyard and closed the door. The prison security commander was shouting that you have no right to enter this ward; but the suppression forces were out of control and could not be restrained. It seemed the guards did not even recognize prison officials and paid no attention to their orders.

Tear gas was being fired right behind the ward door, and we were forced to use spray, cigarettes, and burning newspapers to try to endure.

In her follow-up, she expressed her appeal to various organizations as follows: I, Narges Mohammadi, express my concern about the repetition of such events and request that human rights organizations, Amnesty International, UN special rapporteurs on human rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the European Union’s Commission on Human Rights give serious attention to the situation of prisoners and obligate the Iranian government to protect their lives and safety.

Given the current conditions in the country and the expansion of public protests, there is concern that some security and military sources, by exploiting fabricated incidents and existing conditions, may endanger the lives of some political prisoners in prisons and then attribute it to civil unrest.

The Farsi-speaking Christian News Network has also published this news to clarify public understanding, and defers the accuracy of the report to supplementary reports.