Methodology

This International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran report draws upon the testimony and eyewitness accounts of political prisoners of Evin’s Women’s Ward, as well as their family members, and firsthand testimony in letters from prisoners obtained exclusively by the Campaign. Former inmates and family members also provided testimonies through interviews with the Campaign.

Specifying the exact date of release of these former prisoners would facilitate their identification and thus pose a danger of retaliation against them or their families by the authorities for their testimony here. Consequently, the Campaign has, by necessity, kept release dates intentionally vague. The interviews with former inmates and family members were conducted during the period from January 2016 to May 2016.

The Campaign also drew on official government documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including its constitution1 and its State Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization Procedures2, on international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights3, and on official documents of the United Nations, including the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners4, the Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders 5(known as the Bangkok Rules), and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners6. In addition, the report draws upon extensive previous research and articles published by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Since 2005, no United Nations or other international monitoring body has been allowed to visit the Women’s Ward at Evin Prison—or indeed any ward at Evin Prison—to observe and report on conditions. This report therefore provides a rare glimpse into the conditions under which political prisoners and prisoners of conscience are kept in the Islamic Republic of Iran.