ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Jailed Iranian human rights laywer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been transferred to Qarchak prison, a detention facility notorious for filthy conditions and the ill-treatment of political prisoners, her husband said Tuesday.
Sotoudeh, a prominent laywer known for representing women participating in demonstrations against compulsory hijab laws, was arrested in 2018 before being sentenced to 38 years in prison for acting against national security.
She has undertaken several hunger strikes in protest against horrific prison conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, during which many political prisoners have been left in jail despite being eligible for temporary release, and was hospitalized in September after 40 days of striking.
“Today the guards of Evin prison called Nasrin and instructed her to be ready for transfer to the hospital. Instead, she has been transferred directly to Qarchak prison,” her husband Reza Khandan said on Sotoudeh’s official Facebook page.
“Three weeks ago, after being hospitalised, she was taken back to the prison before completing her full treatment. According to experts, she had to be transferred once again to the hospital for an urgent heart examination and angiography, but instead the Evin authorities have relocated her to Qarchak prison, where the healthcare and prison detention conditions are even worse than Evin prison.”
Sotoudeh suffers from a range of chronic health problems, her husband told AFP. She had previously served several years in Evin for “spreading propaganda” and “acting against national security.”
Qarchak prison is reportedly an all-women's facility in an unused chicken factory south of Tehran.
It is notorious for unsanitary conditions and the ill-treatment of political prisoners.
Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert was moved to the prison in July after also being held in Evin since her arrest in September 2018. She is currently serving a 10-year sentence for espionage – a charge often brought against foreign and dual nationals.
Sources told the Guardian that the academic has been left terrified by officers at the facility, with prisoners regularly strip-searched and vulnerable to outbreaks of disease.
Global writer’s association PEN International on Tuesday reiterated calls for Sotoudeh’s release and urgent medical attention.
“PEN International is alarmed by reports that the health of Iranian writer, lawyer and rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh has deteriorated following her transfer from hospital back to her prison cell.”
“It calls on PEN members to reiterate their calls for her for her immediate release and to be able to receive the medical attention she so urgently needs,” read an official statement.
.webp&w=3840&q=75)
.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)