Iran Human Rights Organization Report on Conditions of Imprisoned Dervish Women in Qarchak Prison
Iran Human Rights Organization released a report on Thursday regarding the conditions of imprisoned dervish women in Qarchak Prison. According to Amnesty International, the prison was originally a poultry farm where hundreds of women live in extremely difficult conditions including lack of sanitary facilities, dirty bathrooms, poor quality food, prevalence of contagious diseases, and brackish water.
Alireza Roshan, himself a Gonabadi dervish and manager of the Majzoban Nour website, wrote in a report on the Iran Human Rights Organization website about the conditions of dervish women in the correctional facility in Rey city, which is known as Qarchak Prison, stating that more than seven months have passed since seven Gonabadi dervish women have been detained in Qarchak Prison and no final conviction ruling has been issued against them.
Despite numerous legal violations in handling these women’s cases, including severe beatings during arrest and afterwards, and denial of lawyer representation in all legal proceedings, despite their readiness to post bail, judicial authorities have refused to accept bail guarantees. Therefore, the detention of these dervish women has been unlawful.
Human rights organizations say that besides Qarchak Prison having inhumane conditions for housing female prisoners, according to the laws of the Islamic Republic, political and ideological prisoners should not be held in public prisons that house murderers, thieves, and other such criminals. This has also happened with male dervishes in the public Evin Prison, and despite requests from civil activists, Islamic Republic authorities have so far refused to transfer dervish women and men to Evin Prison.
Source: Voice of America
