In the days following the suppression of the protests and at the height of the military confrontation between the US, Israel, and the Islamic Republic, what intensified the concerns of human rights activists was the situation of the protest detainees. Thousands of citizens in Iran were arrested by the government on charges such as participating in protests, activity on social networks, publishing videos related to the protests and bombings, or celebrating the death of Khamenei. They faced ambiguous situations and the fabrication of security cases against them.
Among them, the situation of female prisoners, particularly women detained in regional towns and cities, was even more complex. An informed source spoke to IranWire regarding the painful conditions in the women’s ward of Yazd Prison and some of the prisoners held there.
“We had no hope of ever seeing the color of freedom. Every night, missiles struck behind the prison, and dozens of us women, some of whom were very young, fragile, and terrified, would huddle together in a corner, hugging each other. We would squeeze our eyes shut and pray that we wouldn’t suffer.”
The woman cleared her tired, faint voice, but her silence lingered. A lump in her throat blocked her words. She is one of dozens of prisoners who, following the outbreak of the war, had been arrested under pretexts such as activity on social networks, supporting the war, or reacting to the killing of Khamenei. She has now been temporarily released from the women’s ward of Yazd Prison on bail.
