Amnesty Int.:

Responding to reports that Iranian prison guards in riot gear beat prisoners and used tear gas, firearms and pepper spray during raids inside the women-only Shahr e-Rey prison (commonly known as Gharchak) in Varamin outside Tehran that began last night, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philip Luther, said:  

“The reports of the Iranian prison guards’ reckless and heavy-handed response to protests at Shahr-e-Rey prison are deeply alarming. Many prisoners were reported to have received hospital treatment for the effects of tear gas.

The unrest began during the night of 7 February when the women prisoners tried to raise awareness that one of them needed medical care. Reports also suggest that some prisoners organized a protest by banging their hands on the doors of their cells in protest against the fact that their names have not been included on a list of thousands of prisoners due to be pardoned for the 40thanniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Amnesty International has previously documented the appalling ill-treatment of prisoners at Shahr-e Rey prison. The facility is a disused chicken farm that holds prisoners in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, without access to safe drinkable water, decent food, medicine and fresh air.

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