Long before court verdicts are read or charges are clearly explained, many political detainees in Iran say punishment begins behind closed doors.
Prisons, according to survivors and rights groups, are not just holding facilities—they are tools of intimidation designed to crush dissent and send a warning to anyone thinking of speaking out.
Seventy-Two Hours That Changed Everything
Inside an interrogation room in the Kurdish city of Bukan, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri says six security guards took turns torturing him for three straight days.
For 72 hours, the Kurdish farmer—already condemned to death—was beaten and electrocuted until he drifted in and out of consciousness.
That brutal stretch, he later wrote from prison, was only the opening chapter of a much longer nightmare.
One Hundred and Thirty Days of Relentless Abuse
In a chilling letter smuggled out of jail, Babamiri described more than four months of continuous mistreatment.
He spoke of mock executions, waterboarding, and psychological torment meant to break him completely.
His testimony, human rights groups say, reflects a broader pattern inside Iran’s detention system, where violence is routinely used to terrify political prisoners into submission.
Thousands Now Trapped Behind Bars
As protests against the government flare up once again, activists estimate that at least 3,000 demonstrators are currently locked inside facilities they describe as “slaughterhouses.”
The arrests followed a sweeping crackdown on anti-government unrest, with authorities rounding up protesters across multiple cities.
While officials deny plans for mass executions, campaigners fear detainees may still face torture—or worse.
The Case Drawing Global Attention
That fear has become especially intense around the case of Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old shopkeeper arrested for joining protests in January.
His family says they were told to prepare for his execution, triggering international outrage and urgent appeals from rights groups.
Soltani’s situation quickly turned into a geopolitical flashpoint when Donald Trump warned that executing protesters could provoke U.S. military action against Iran.
Execution Denied, Danger Remains
Iranian authorities have since insisted Soltani has not been sentenced to death.
Even so, human rights organizations stress that avoiding execution does not guarantee safety.
Former detainees describe prisons where beatings, pepper spray, and electric shocks—including to sensitive body parts—are commonplace.
Years of extreme abuse, they warn, remain a very real possibility.
Torture Methods Documented in Detail
Amnesty International has catalogued a disturbing range of techniques used during interrogations.
Detainees report being suspended from poles in a painful position guards call “chicken kebab,” forcing the body into agonizing stress.
Others describe waterboarding, mock hangings, staged firing squads, sleep deprivation, sensory overload, and even the removal of fingernails or toenails.
Confessions Forced for the Cameras
According to rights groups, torture is often used to extract “confessions” before any legal process begins.
Iranian state television has aired numerous televised admissions in recent weeks, showing detainees sobbing or visibly distressed while answering questions.
Some of these broadcasts feature Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a hardline judiciary figure sanctioned by both the EU and the United States.
Babamiri’s Own Words from Prison
Writing from Urmia Central Prison, Babamiri said intelligence agents tied him to a chair and shocked his earlobes, nipples, spine, thighs, temples, and genitals.
The pain, he said, was unbearable and deliberately inflicted to force him to repeat scripted statements on camera.
Sexual Violence as a Weapon
Beyond physical torture, sexual abuse has also been widely reported.
A Kurdish woman told Human Rights Watch she was raped by security officers while a female agent held her down.
Other survivors describe being assaulted with batons, gang-raped in vans, or attacked after interrogators tore their clothes apart.
These accounts, activists say, reveal a deliberate strategy to humiliate and permanently traumatize detainees.
Footage That Confirms Long-Held Claims
Rare video leaked from Tehran’s Evin Prison has shown guards beating and mistreating inmates, offering visual proof of abuses long reported by survivors.
Amnesty International says such evidence confirms that these practices are systemic, not the actions of a few rogue officers.
Inside Qezel-Hesar Prison
Soltani is believed to be held at Qezel-Hesar Prison, a massive detention complex notorious for human rights violations.
Former inmates describe severe overcrowding, denial of medical care, and routine beatings.
One ex-prisoner called it a “horrific slaughterhouse,” where people were crammed into filthy cells and left untreated.
A Country Known for Mass Executions
Iran already has one of the world’s highest execution rates.
Amnesty International reports that more than 1,000 people were executed last year—the highest figure since 2015—and rights groups say the country now executes more people per capita than any other nation.
Punishment Beyond Prison Walls
Detention itself has become a tool of fear, activists say.
Some prisoners are held in solitary confinement for months in windowless cells without beds or toilets.
Others face corporal punishment.
UN experts have documented cases of repeated floggings and even finger amputations used to reinforce state control.
A Woman’s Defiance After the Whip
One recent case that shocked observers involved Roya Heshmati, a 33-year-old woman whipped 74 times for appearing in public without a hijab.
She described being lashed in what felt like a medieval torture chamber but later refused to cover her head in court.
“I did not let them think I had experienced pain,” she wrote, describing her quiet act of defiance.
Protests, Arrests, and Harsh Warnings
As demonstrations spread, thousands have taken to the streets chanting slogans like “death to the dictator.”
Buildings have burned, cars overturned, and tensions escalated.
State-aligned clerics have warned protesters could be labeled “enemies of God,” a charge that can carry the death penalty.
Conflicting Numbers, Rising Alarm
Security-linked media outlets claim around 3,000 people were arrested, describing them as rioters or members of terrorist groups.
Human rights organizations, however, believe the true number could be as high as 20,000.
Soltani’s Legal Limbo
Soltani has been charged with “collusion against internal security” and “propaganda against the system.”
Authorities say these charges do not carry the death penalty if upheld, yet they have provided no clear information about his trial status, access to legal counsel, or how long he may remain detained.
Rights groups say such uncertainty is typical—and deeply dangerous.
What Comes Next?
With transparency tightly controlled and survivor testimonies often the only window into Iran’s prisons, the fate of thousands remains unclear.
For activists and families alike, the fear is not just about execution, but about the unseen violence that may unfold behind prison walls long before any sentence is ever announced.
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