A prominent human rights activist in Iran has written to the BBC from inside a prison to provide specifics on the sexual and physical torture that is being meted out to women detained in connection with recent rallies against the Iranian regime.
Narges Mohammadi stated that recent protests had seen an increase in the frequency of such assaults.
She has been sentenced to a hefty term and is currently incarcerated in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison.
The protests were sparked after Mahsa Amini, who was 22 years old and had been imprisoned for breaching severe clothing standards, passed away while she was being held in custody in September.
Midway through the month of September, she was taken into custody by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab, also known as a headscarf, in an “improper” manner.
According to human rights groups, more than 500 demonstrators, including 69 children, have been killed, and thousands of others have been arrested. According to reports, dozens of Iranian security agents were also among those who lost their lives.
It is stated that many of those who were arrested were subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment while they were being held in detention.
Ms. Mohammadi serves as the deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which is led by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. Since 2011, she has been sentenced to multiple terms of incarceration, and she is presently serving time for “spreading propaganda.”
This year, she was also featured on the BBC’s 100 Women list, which is a prominent compilation of 100 women from all around the world who are both inspiring and powerful.
Those prominent political prisoners in Iran who are not being held in solitary confinement, like Ms. Mohammadi, are frequently able to connect with the outside world through the medium of their families or other fellow activists.
Ms. Mohammadi writes in her letter that some of the ladies caught during the recent rallies were taken to the women’s ward in Evin prison. She claims that the women were restrained with their hands and legs tied to a hook.
This afforded her the opportunity to learn horrifying specifics about the abuse they had to endure.
She claims that a well-known activist had her wrists and legs tied to a hook above her head while she was being transported to prison and that security agents then sexually attacked her after the hook was placed above her head in the van.
Ms. Mohammadi claims that she observed scars and bruises on the victim’s body.
She claims that another woman who was arrested in the street was put on a motorcycle by two security personnel—one in front of her and one behind her—and that she was attacked multiple times during the ride.
It has been reported that female protestors in Iran have been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual abuse at the hands of Iranian security personnel.
A report that was published on the 19th of December stated that female detainees were confined in facilities that were run by all-female staff. The study also stated that reports of rape in the Western media were “rumors” and “baseless.”
But Iran also continues to exert a great deal of pressure on local reporting of the protests, and a report that was published not too long ago suggested that the country is now the third-greatest jailer of journalists in the world.
Ms. Mohammadi believes that it is necessary to expose what is happening in order to attempt to put a stop to what is happening, despite the fact that reporting abuse may lead to the families of women in detention being intimidated. Nevertheless, she believes that it is necessary to expose what is happening.
She claims that if these crimes were not revealed to the public, it would “help to continue the use of these coercive measures against women.”
Accordingly, it would appear that the attacks against Iranian female activists, fighters, and protestors ought to be extensively documented and forcefully criticized at the international level.
She went on to say that this was of utmost significance in light of the pressure that is being placed on Iran’s civil society.
She stated that “in the absence of powerful independent civil organizations, the attention and assistance of the media, international human rights organizations, and global public opinion are crucial.” “In the absence of powerful independent civil organizations,”
At the end of the letter, Ms. Mohammadi expressed her confidence that Iran’s “brave, tenacious, vivacious, and hopeful women” will emerge victorious.
She continued by saying that “Victory means building democracy, peace, and human rights, and ending tyranny.”
“We will not give in to pressure.”