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Former Prisoners Warn of Unseen Brutality in Iran’s Detention System as Protests Continue
As protests sweep across Iran and security forces intensify their crackdown, former political prisoners have come forward to warn that the violence visible on the streets represents only a fraction of the brutality unfolding behind prison walls.
Three former detainees, speaking to Fox News Digital, described a detention system designed not merely to punish dissent but to break it through systematic abuse, including solitary confinement, beatings, medical neglect, and threats of execution. Their accounts span nearly two decades of Iranian protest movements, revealing what they characterize as a consistent and escalating pattern of state violence against political detainees.
Maryam Shariatmadari, who became one of the faces of the “Girls of Revolution Street” protests against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, was sentenced to one year in prison in March 2018 for what authorities called “encouraging corruption by removing her hijab.” Speaking this week, she reported that the scale of current protests has pushed the regime beyond its capacity to detain demonstrators.
“According to the testimonies of eyewitnesses, the suppressive forces of the Islamic Republic are delivering ‘final shots’ to wounded protesters, killing them on the spot,” Shariatmadari said. “This has been unprecedented over the past 47 years and indicates that the number of detainees has become so large that the Islamic Republic no longer has the capacity to hold them.”
She described how authorities have expanded detention facilities during recent protests to include schools, ambulances, and even food transport vehicles – tactics she called “unprecedented in human history.”
Inside detention facilities, Shariatmadari recounted systematic abuse including beatings and deliberate incitement of other inmates to harass detainees. One of her most traumatic experiences occurred during interrogation when she was forced to undress for a body search while cameras were present. “I knew that men were watching me, and I could hear their voices,” she recalled.
Mehdi Ghadimi, Shariatmadari’s husband and a freelance journalist who worked with reformist newspapers, was arrested in January 2023 during protests and held in an undisclosed location. He spent nearly his entire detention in solitary confinement, enduring daily interrogations.
“I was interrogated twice daily, morning and afternoon, for eight hours with my eyes blindfolded,” Ghadimi said. He noted that during his brief time in a shared cell, he encountered detainees from across Iranian society – students, workers, and technical specialists arrested during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
According to Ghadimi, detainees accused of supporting the Pahlavi dynasty faced particularly severe treatment. “They were beaten far more than the others,” he said. Now in exile after fleeing Iran in 2024, Ghadimi warned that current detainees likely face even harsher conditions, particularly after Iran’s judiciary chief signaled a hardline approach to the protests.
Shabnam Madadzadeh, imprisoned during the 2009 uprising, expressed fears that the current situation could lead to mass executions similar to the 1988 killings of political prisoners. “What immediately comes to my mind is the regime’s sheer brutality in torture and killing,” she said, describing how detention facilities were already overflowing during the 2009 protests.
She recalled interrogators accusing nearly everyone arrested of links to opposition groups and subjecting them to severe torture. One threat made during her interrogation still haunts her: “He told me: ‘If we are going to be overthrown, we will kill all of you. We will leave no one alive.'”
Madadzadeh warned that the current internet blackout in Iran has heightened the danger for detainees by cutting off outside monitoring. “We truly do not know what level of brutality is currently taking place inside the prisons,” she said, adding that information reaching her suggests the regime is seeking to carry out executions quickly.
All three former prisoners emphasized that young detainees are likely facing forced confessions, mock executions, and threats of sexual violence, with families desperately searching between detention centers, prisons, morgues, and cemeteries for missing loved ones.
The former detainees called for urgent international action. “The world must respond decisively to this brutality,” Madadzadeh said. “Every minute of delay costs lives.”
Shariatmadari urged the international community to understand “the true voice of the people inside Iran,” saying, “The people of Iran are united in their demand for regime change and want to restore Iran to its former dignity, a dignity in which human rights and human worth were respected.”
As protests continue across Iran, these testimonies reveal the country’s prisons as the hidden frontline of repression, with former inmates warning that what remains unseen may be even more deadly than the violence already visible on the streets.
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20 Comments
The accounts from former prisoners of the systematic abuse and medical neglect they endured are harrowing. It’s crucial that the international community continues to shine a light on these human rights abuses and hold the Iranian regime accountable.
I appreciate the courageous former prisoners who have come forward to share their stories and warn about the unseen brutality happening behind prison walls in Iran.
The accounts of torture and abuse faced by Iranian political prisoners are absolutely horrifying. It’s critical that the international community continues to shed light on these human rights abuses and hold the regime accountable.
I’m curious to know more about the specific tactics used by the regime to try to break the will of political prisoners, like solitary confinement and threats of execution. This level of cruelty is deeply disturbing.
This report is a stark reminder that the violence we see on the streets of Iran is just the tip of the iceberg. The level of cruelty and dehumanization inflicted on political prisoners by the regime is truly horrifying.
I hope the international community takes strong and sustained action to hold the Iranian government accountable for these egregious human rights abuses and to support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom.
The accounts of torture and abuse faced by Iranian political prisoners are deeply disturbing. It’s horrifying that the regime continues to violently crack down on dissent and free expression through such inhumane tactics.
I hope the international community takes strong action to hold the Iranian government accountable for these egregious human rights violations.
This report is a chilling reminder of the lengths the Iranian regime will go to in order to suppress dissent and maintain its grip on power. The world must not turn a blind eye to these egregious human rights violations.
I hope the international community can find effective ways to support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and human rights, beyond just condemnation of the regime’s actions.
The accounts of torture, solitary confinement, and threats of execution faced by Iranian political prisoners are deeply disturbing. This report underscores the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability in Iran’s detention system.
I’m grateful to the former prisoners who have come forward to share their stories and warn about the unseen brutality happening behind prison walls. Their bravery in the face of such cruelty is truly admirable.
The systematic abuse and medical neglect faced by Iranian political prisoners, as detailed in this report, is truly appalling. These accounts underscore the urgent need for greater transparency and independent monitoring of the regime’s detention system.
I’m grateful to the courageous former prisoners who have come forward to share their stories and warn about the unseen brutality happening behind prison walls in Iran. Their bravery is commendable.
This report underscores the urgent need for greater transparency and independent monitoring of Iran’s detention system. The scale of the current protests seems to have overwhelmed the regime’s capacity to detain demonstrators, which is telling.
I’m curious to know more about the specific tactics used by the regime, like solitary confinement and threats of execution, to try to break the will of political prisoners. This level of cruelty is deeply disturbing.
This report is a sobering reminder of the severe repression and violence that the Iranian regime is willing to inflict on its own citizens to maintain power. The world must not turn a blind eye to these egregious human rights violations.
I hope the international community can find ways to meaningfully support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and human rights, beyond just condemnation of the regime’s actions.
This report on the horrific treatment of Iranian political prisoners is a stark reminder of the regime’s ruthless suppression of dissent. The systematic abuse and medical neglect detailed are truly appalling and must be condemned in the strongest terms.
I hope the international community can find effective ways to support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom and human rights, beyond just verbal condemnation of the regime’s actions.