Latest news with #dissidents
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran moves female prisoners to ‘hellhole' cattle farm jail
Iran moved female inmates to a 'hellhole' detention centre in the wake of an Israeli air strike on Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Missiles struck the site, where dissidents are jailed to silence them, on Monday morning, the day before Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire ending their 12-day war. The Telegraph has learnt that guards moved prisoners from the facility after the strike, with women being taken to Qarchak prison, a former livestock facility that has been converted into a detention centre 40 miles south of the Iranian capital. Humanitarian groups have issued frequent alerts about the centre, which is sanctioned by the US on the basis of extrajudicial killings, torture and other violations of human rights. Iranian authorities have launched a wave of arrests across the country since the fragile truce was struck, detaining more than 700 people on espionage charges. The Islamic Republic has used international tensions as a cover while it cracks down on dissent at home and steps up retributions. The regime has been significantly weakened, and clerics are said to have become paranoid and wary of a challenge to their grip on power. However, since Israel's war with Iran started, the Tehran regime has stopped arresting women for not wearing headscarves, with analysts saying it wanted public support as it was put under pressure by the bombing campaign by Israel and the US. But women protesters still suffer in prison. Many women arrested during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests were moved to Qarchak prison, where some remain. In an audio recording, a woman named Sayeh Seydal described being moved from Evin prison to Qarchak in the wake of Monday's air strike. 'The American and Israeli bombing didn't kill us, but the Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it's practically killing us,' Ms Seydal said in the recording smuggled out of the country. 'They've brought us to a place where humans don't live. It's a gradual death.' Ms Seydal is serving three years for social media posts deemed unacceptable to the Iranian regime, and had been imprisoned at Evin since October 2024. After the explosion, special guards reportedly attacked prisoners and began to move them. Men were transferred to Fashafoyeh prison outside Tehran, while women were handcuffed and transported to Qarchak. According to Ms Seydal's recording, the conditions defy basic human dignity. 'They've crammed everyone into a quarantine ward – a real hellhole,' she said. 'The toilets are like outdoor latrines. The showers? Like outdoor showers. The stench of filth has taken over everywhere. Even the water – the water you splash on your face – is salty. The food? It absolutely cannot be eaten. A terrible situation. 'The Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it seems they want to get revenge for Israel and America and just kill us off easily.' Qarchak lacks prison standards that even the livestock once enjoyed. There is no proper sewage system or access to clean water, according to human rights groups There are no windows, and when the iron gates to outdoor areas close at 5pm, inmates stare at walls with only two small holes, 'the size of lentils,' for glimpses of the sky. Between 1,500 and 2,000 women are held at Qarchak throughout most of the year. Each hall was designed for fewer than 100 people, but they typically house over 150. At times, the number has reached 600, leaving prisoners without space to sleep, even on the floor. The detention centre is infested with cockroaches, rats, salamanders, lizards, water bugs and venomous tarantulas, according to human rights activists and former prisoners. Medical care is severely limited, with only five prisoners per ward allowed daily medical visits, and while prison authorities claim budget constraints prevent the provision of essential medications, they freely distribute sleeping pills and tranquillisers to keep prisoners sedated. Most of Qarchak's inmates are women from marginalised and impoverished backgrounds, among the most vulnerable sectors of Iranian society. Qarchak also holds children up to the age of four with their imprisoned mothers. The children endure the same harsh conditions, and having seen no men during their imprisonment, often become frightened when encountering men after leaving prison 'Qarchak prison is a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Norway-based Iran human rights organisation. 'The continued operation of such facilities is a stain on the conscience of the world.' Iran's judiciary said the transfers were conducted to 'respect prisoners' rights' and 'provide better services'. The conditions in Evin prison were already dire. Established in 1972, it has become notorious for its use by the Tehran regime to detain political prisoners, including British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was released from Iran in 2022. After the Israeli strike, family members of other foreign detainees expressed concerns about their loved ones' safety, with relatives saying they had no information about their status. While Iran's judiciary confirmed the strike, Iran has not released official casualty figures or disclosed the current status of transferred prisoners. One prisoner who was able to call his family was Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic who has been on death row since 2017. But his wife Vida Mehrannia said she has not spoken with her husband since after the strikes on Monday, when he called to say he had survived. She is increasingly worried. 'He called and said he was OK, but parts of Evin had been destroyed and they were being moved somewhere,' she said. 'I've had no news from him since.' Mr Djalali was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death the following year on charges of espionage for Israel's Mossad. Six people, including alleged Mossad spies, have been executed over the past week. Asked how worried she is about the latest developments, Ms Mehrannia asked The Telegraph: 'Are they going to execute him? He was very worried and said that two of his cellmates have so far been executed.' She added: 'The situation in Iran is not good, but ours is worse than anyone else's. They've taken our lives away for the past nine years. I just hope they leave us alone.' 'Why do they insist someone is a Mossad spy when he isn't,' she asked. 'He is not a Mossad spy, but they keep insisting he is – and it's punishing.'
Wall Street Journal
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Life in Iran After the Strikes: Executions, Arrests and Paranoia
As soon as U.S. and Israeli bombs stopped raining down on Iran, the country's theocratic leaders and the security forces emerged from their bunkers and began waging a new campaign—this time against their own people, targeting alleged spies, dissidents and opposition figures. Checkpoints have sprung up across Tehran as the authorities seek to reassert control and hunt people they suspect helped Israel's attacks on air defenses, nuclear sites, and top officers and atomic scientists in a 12-day air war that exposed the state's inability to defend itself.
ABC News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
The voices inside Iran the regime doesn't want you to hear
In a country where dissidents face arrest or even execution, 10 Iranians put themselves at risk to document the war. It's 2am in Iran when a message pops up on my phone. "They are bombing us now. I can hear it. I'm at my mum's. There is no shelter. I'm terrified. Pray for us. We may die." The text is from Zahra, a young woman who lives in Tehran, and she is risking her life to send it. It's difficult to get a sense of how ordinary Iranians have been feeling during the past fortnight. Foreign journalists are rarely allowed into Iran, and media in the country is tightly controlled by the regime. People who speak out face arrest, even execution, and rolling internet blackouts help authorities tighten their grip on information. One of my contacts was arrested and held in jail just last year. But throughout the war, several Iranians — including a teacher, a mother, and a labourer — have been sending me information as the war unfolded. They want the outside world to know what's happening in their country. Here are their stories. 'It felt like an earthquake': The war begins People described the first attacks as feeling "like an earthquake". ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) Under the cover of darkness, Israel begins Operation Rising Lion on June 13. People wake to explosions and bright clouds of light in the sky. Panic and confusion sweep the streets. ZAHRA: It felt like an earthquake happened. I was terrified, it was almost close to my house. It was 2:30am and suddenly I saw a yellow-orange light … I brought my head up and heard booooooooooom. It all happened in a second. FARAH: My mum heard the booms at about 3am. And she started screaming. They attack our neighbourhood, behind my house, and everything is shattered and destroyed. ZAHRA: I called my mum and begged her to go to the basement. I was running the steps down, calling the neighbours to come down … my dog was following me. You have no idea how I was shaking, no idea! My spine was shaking, my whole body, my legs were shaking so much that I couldn't stand on them. Then it kept going, the night after and the night after. FARAH: In the streets, it is heart-wrenching. I feel so heartbroken to see the kids and young people, ordinary ones who are not in the army, are all killed. And near my house, there is a girl who is killed, she was 20-something, and I keep thinking about her because I remember that I had so many dreams when I was 20. Anyway, that's war. 'No-one is in the streets': Thousands flee Tehran People were told to evacuate Tehran, but several residents told the ABC it was difficult. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) Hours after the attack, Iran's leaders declare war and fire barrages of missiles back at Israel. Israel's military continues to bomb nuclear sites and assassinate senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. Civilians are also killed. People are told to evacuate Tehran — but not everyone can leave. FARAH: We left our city Tehran yesterday. Usually it takes four to five hours to reach to the north part of Iran and yesterday it took us 11 hours. It was very crowded, all the roads and the highways. And I just drive 500 metres in 10 minutes. It's horrible. ZAHRA: I am still in Tehran, it is almost empty. Shops are closed, no-one is in the streets. Some people spend more than 12 hours in traffic getting out of Tehran. In other cities, food and fuel is already scarce. FARAH: I just went to the petrol station here [in northern Iran] and they told me that I can just take the 30 litres, no more. And I heard from my friends in Tehran that you can just get 15 litres for your car per day and not more. So petrol is like a crisis. 'There is no place to hide': Fear intensifies People told the ABC they felt like "nothing" was in their control. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) Five days into the war, Israel's bombing campaign continues. The official death toll in Iran has climbed past 200. It's unclear how many are civilians. People fear the war will continue for years. FARAH: It's been less than a week that they started the war and in just few days everything collapsed and destroyed. And we lost so many beautiful lives and minds. YASMIN: Nothing is in our control. It's not in the hands of the people here either. But we've gotta keep our spirit strong. We've been through so much through the years — and it's made us thick skinned … really thick. FARAH: Innocent people, they are killed, they stay in their home, and there is no alarm, there is no place to hide, there is not shelter, there's no food. I don't know what are we doing? ZAHRA: It's war. It's Israel. It's scary. 'They will kill us': Some hope war will topple regime Some people said they hoped the war would lead to the end of the regime. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) There's talk that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could be assassinated. Hundreds of men from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the military group that protects the theocratic regime — have also been killed. Amongst the fear, there is hope among people who despise the regime that it could fall. ZAHRA: I hate these paradoxical feelings. On one hand, I am glad that those [in the IRGC] who killed our children, blinded them, imprisoned us are dead. On the other hand, our national pride has been attacked and I/we feel humiliated. Some are angry with the regime and feel happy about eliminating the leaders. Some are not happy with the war and they think it's encroaching our country. KAMRAN: It's this strange feeling, like people were relieved the war started, just because they thought maybe everything else — all this madness — would finally end. ALI: If foreign attacks shatter the regime's grandeur and that fear shatters, it will definitely lead to regime change. ZAHRA: I just woke up, we're still at war. We want it all gone. The regime must go. If they stay after this war, they will kill us all. And we know it. Israel must end up eliminating the regime's men. If not, they will arrest us, they will kill us. 'This might be the last chance': Panic as US bombs Iran People were afraid of what the US joining the war could lead to. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) Just after 2am on June 22, nine days after the first strikes, America joins the war. US forces drop massive "bunker-busting" bombs on several nuclear sites. People inside Iran fear this means real war — not just with Israel, but the start of something that could destroy all of their country. ZAHRA: They bombed Fordow and other sites. It was like an earthquake. Fordow was a place that Israel couldn't bomb so Trump did it instead. But Israel won't stop now. They will finish the Islamic Republic. LENA: State media is telling us that the enriched uranium was moved elsewhere and that nothing has happened. Right now, we don't even have satellite access. Many people don't know what actually happened. For example, I didn't know myself. I went out this morning [and] found out there that the US had struck. FARAH: Nobody knows what's going on and what will happen next. The nuclear leaks, maybe. Maybe we won't be like alive in the next few hours? Who knows? Now this American attack … I can't stop my tears. LENA: The regime doesn't let us access the news or talk to each other. They've shut everything down on us. ZAHRA: This might be the last chance for us. FINISH them. America will finish them. 'I am full of anger': Mixed feelings over sudden ceasefire Iranians had mixed feelings after the ceasefire was announced. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) A day after the US bombs Iran, Donald Trump announces a ceasefire. There's shock and disbelief inside Iran. Could the war really be over？ There's also a growing anger, at what some see as a missed opportunity to topple the regime. FARAH: For now I am full of anger … this mullah's regime is still here and our country is destroyed, many people have been killed for nothing!!!!!! This morning I was crying when I heard the news. They promised us to change the regime. They said that they're going to kill Khamenei, they're going to bring better days but it's all lies, empty promises. YASMIN: Nothing is in our control. It's not in the hands of the people here either. My brain is throbbing. I don't want to give this s*** anymore energy I'm done for today, I'm done with it all. With those f***ers, with politics. FARHAD: I would have preferred Israel to destruct and weaken the regime led by Khamenei even more. If they continue the war, they [Iran's regime] might get weaker, their economy might further weaken and the people could have greater courage to start an uprising. KAMRAN: If they go ahead and announce a permanent ceasefire, after all the damage that's been done to the Islamic Republic's infrastructure, our lives will only get worse. Much worse. 'I still have hope': People disappointed regime remains The Iranian regime, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has tight control over the media. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) Anger quickly turns to fear with the realisation the war is over, but the regime remains. Some predict the weakened regime will crack down even harder — especially on those who oppose the regime — as it fights for its survival. FARAH: Right now the regime will have a lot of excuses — that if [you] don't behave like they what they want, according to them, based on Islamic rule, then it's enough for them to label you a spy — you are working for Israel, you are American spy. Then they kill you easily. AVA: I'm disappointed … I thought maybe this could be it. I still have hope that it [the ceasefire] won't last — because otherwise, the people will have to pay for this war. KAMRAN: If I'm being real, I've kind of lost faith, I'm disappointed. Maybe it's all just some psychological game they're playing, I don't know. FARAH: We went to do some shopping yesterday. On the way there, there were more than 10 checkpoints with lots and lots of young policemen with huge guns. I saw they stopped many young men and all kind of lorries and big cars. We came back in the evening, there were lots of checkpoints too with policemen but different types of uniform which I didn't recognise and we've never seen them before. Scary. 'Twelve days of horror': Iranians question what the war achieved Several people told the ABC the cost of food and fuel is already soaring. ( ABC News: Sharon Gordon ) The war is over, but it's not time to celebrate. People in Tehran report massive damage and say the city will need extensive repairs. They say the regime and its henchmen are already jacking up the prices of petrol, oil, and food — likely to raise money to pay for the reconstruction. Some feel like the war was for nothing. KAMRAN: We're going to be the ones expected to pay for the damage — in every sense of the word. Any loss, any destruction — they'll find a way to get people to make up for it. They'll squeeze us. They'll justify it by saying, "We gave you peace. We gave you stability." In every possible sense — especially economically, we'll be crushed. We'll be struggling just to stay afloat, nothing more. BIJAN: We have been notified that for three or four days now, no imports are coming into Iran. Iran's stock exchange has been closed for a week. That affects the economy. FARAH: We don't know how to be happy. What did they achieve from this kind of war? It's just 12 days of horror and shocks and stress. They destroyed all the buildings. They destroyed our homes. They killed innocent, ordinary people … I feel like my heart is bleeding. ZAHRA: Yes we are tired … yes we are disappointed. But, change takes time. You should know the history of Saddam and Gaddafi? The same thing happened. So we will be patient. Change will happen. Credits: Reporting: Middle East correspondent Allyson Horn Additional reporting: Kaveh Akbari, Fariba Sahraei and Nassim Khadem Illustrations: Sharon Gordon Digital production and editing: Leonie Thorne and Toby Mann
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
A 12-day war followed by a sudden ceasefire. Some Iranians now wonder what comes next
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — For many Iranians it was a lightning sequence of events: A 12-day war with Israel and a sudden, U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Now, as they return to their neighborhoods deeply shaken by Israeli air assaults, fears mount over what the country's theocracy may do next. Human rights advocates have already warned that Iran's government is ramping up executions of dissidents and political prisoners. Since Israel launched strikes on June 13, targeting Iran's nuclear program and top military officials, Tehran has said that six people were executed on charges of spying for Israel — three of them on Wednesday alone. Four Iranians recounted to The Associated Press that they believe only a minority in the Islamic Republic still firmly supports its leadership. They said they are concerned the fallout from Israel's attack will derail any momentum for change in the country's clerical rule, in place since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The four spoke on condition of anonymity or agreeing that only their first names be used over fears of reprisals. 'We don't know what will happen,' said Shirin, a 49-year-old living in northern Tehran, the Iranian capital. She speculated that the authorities could 'take out all of their anger' at the losses in the war on ordinary Iranians. Fear of repression grows Nooshin, a 44-year-old Tehran housewife, said the government's playbook of clamping down amid internal or external pressure had already started when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a truce between Iran and Israel on Tuesday. 'Basically, after every crisis, the Iranian regime has a habit of punishing its own people, and this time, it will probably get many dissidents into trouble,' she said. The fast-tracking of several death sentence cases in recent days has sparked fears from activists that an even deadlier wave of executions could take place now that the conflict is over, similar to what followed Iran's 1980s war with Iraq. 'After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival,' Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, the director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization, said Wednesday. 'Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of executions' in the coming weeks, he added. Iranian officials, including Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, defended the government's actions and lauded what he described as the unity of Iranians. 'Our people showed that they are resolute in their defense of national security and sovereignty,' he told Al Jazeera English on Wednesday. Information blackout Days of on-and-off internet connectivity have left the population of more than 80 million people scrambling to fill in the gaps of Iranian state broadcasts. Alongside revolutionary and Islamic slogans, state media has tried to drum up a rally-behind-the-flag message, echoing past similar efforts during the Iran-Iraq war. Anchors signed off broadcasts by reciting a famous line of nationalist poetry. Elias Hazrati, a state media official considered close to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, made a rare acknowledgment of deep political and social divisions in the country while calling for solidarity against foreign threats. But Shirin, from northern Tehran, said she feared there were 'horrible things the government is doing right now that we have no clue about and won't know until they want us to know.' Some are optimistic Mahshid, who lives in the northwestern city of Qazvin, said she was hopeful about what the end of the war would bring and that she expects the authorities' recent leniency on enforcing the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, will remain in place. 'I feel that after emotions subside, the government will be tolerant of people on issues such as the hijab and personal freedoms,' the 45-year-old woman said. Another Tehran resident, an academic researcher who asked not to be identified by name, echoed that sentiment. He said that it was less likely authorities would be able to roll back other changes that have swept the country following years of unrest and protests against the law on the women's headscarf. 'It's unlikely the Islamic Republic will become more hard-line on social issues,' he said. 'Because of Israel's attacks, they've been weakened,' he said of the authorities, adding that there have been rumors about easing restrictions on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram in the coming days. Same old power shortages The researcher said Israel had 'also been targeting a lot of non-military targets' around the capital. He said an airstrike near Midan-e Tajrish, a central square surrounded by upscale Tehran areas, had knocked out water supplies for at least a couple of days in the nearby neighborhoods. Power shortages, however, were already a part of everyday life before the war — a result of years of economic mismanagement in the country that has fueled calls for change. 'The electricity cuts for about two hours most days of the week, like we did before the war,' he said. Amid the war, supporters of Iran's clerical establishment have also tried to align themselves with what he called more 'nationalist' parts of society, without really addressing popular calls for deep reforms. 'These are the people you see demonstrating in the streets, saying we have been victorious in this war,' he said. 'But most people, more than half of the country, were people who didn't want this war.'
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Fears of crackdown on Iranian dissidents accused of collaborating with Israel
Fears of crackdown on Iranian dissidents accused of collaborating with Israel Published 25 June 2025, 9:03 am Now that the sound of airstrikes have fallen silent in Iran and Israel, some activists in Iran fear the regime will step-up a crackdown on its own citizens. According to human rights organisations, there has been a rising number of arrests and arbitrary executions.
