Iranian female detainees protest executions

A group of female political prisoners in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison were assaulted by prison guards on Tuesday, after staging a protest against the execution of Iranian dissident Reza Rasaei.

Rasaei, who was executed earlier that morning in western Iran, had been arrested during the nationwide 2022 protests. His execution sparked widespread global condemnation including protests by political prisoners at Evin.

According to information obtained by Iran International, the protest at Evin women’s ward began when the prisoners received news of Rasaei's execution. They gathered in the prison courtyard, chanting slogans against the death penalty. The protest was met with a violent response from prison authorities, led by Hadi Mohammadi, the deputy officer in charge. Guards, acting on the deputy’s orders, violently dispersed the protesters, severely beating several women.

Among the injured was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who suffered a “respiratory attack and intense chest pain, causing her to collapse and faint,” after being beaten by prison guards along with several other inmates, according to a statement released by her family on Thursday.

A group of female political prisoners in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison were assaulted by prison guards on Tuesday, after staging a protest against the execution of Iranian dissident Reza Rasaei.

Rasaei, who was executed earlier that morning in western Iran, had been arrested during the nationwide 2022 protests. His execution sparked widespread global condemnation including protests by political prisoners at Evin.

According to information obtained by Iran International, the protest at Evin women’s ward began when the prisoners received news of Rasaei's execution. They gathered in the prison courtyard, chanting slogans against the death penalty. The protest was met with a violent response from prison authorities, led by Hadi Mohammadi, the deputy officer in charge. Guards, acting on the deputy’s orders, violently dispersed the protesters, severely beating several women.

Among the injured was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who suffered a “respiratory attack and intense chest pain, causing her to collapse and faint,” after being beaten by prison guards along with several other inmates, according to a statement released by her family on Thursday.

On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed extreme concern over reports that Iranian authorities had executed 29 people in the last two days. "This represents an alarmingly high number of executions in such a short period of time," said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell.

Though the death toll could not be independently verified by the United Nations, the reported executions bring the total number to at least 345 this year, including 15 women.

Throssell also highlighted the disproportionate impact of these executions on minorities, including Kurds, Hawassi Arabs, and Baluch, and condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses. "Imposing the death penalty for offenses not involving intentional killing is incompatible with international human rights norms and standards," she stated.

The crackdown on Evin’s prisoners and the broader surge in executions reflect the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran, despite the election of President Masoud Pezeshkian in July. Since his election, at least 87 people have been executed, raising further concerns about the future of human rights under his administration.