As of Tuesday, August 6, 2024, fifteen female political prisoners in Evin Prison, including Pakhshan Azizi, Elaheh Fouladi, Narges Mohammadi, and Golrokh Iraee, have been denied contact and visits with their families by order of the prison’s disciplinary committee.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, this denial was enforced following the prisoners’ protests against the execution of Reza Rasaei and a confrontation with the prison guards. Initially, around thirty prisoners were deprived of contact and visits, but after further protests, the restriction was lifted for some individuals.
The duration of this deprivation varies for each prisoner. For instance, Pakhshan Azizi and Elaheh Fouladi have been deprived for three months, Narges Mohammadi and Golrokh Iraee for two months, and others for one month.
It is worth noting that some of these prisoners, such as Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, were already deprived of visits and phone calls since December 2, 2023, by the order of Judge Abolghasem Salavati, head of the 15th Branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Pakhshan Azizi, a political prisoner sentenced to death, has also been deprived of this right since July 7, 2024, and another political prisoner, Varisheh Mordai, since mid-May 2024, both by order of Judge Salavati.
The denial of these prisoners’ basic rights, such as contact and visits with their families, has raised serious concerns about the human rights situation in Iran’s prisons.