Evin Prison

Evin Prison (PerB|زندان اوین) is a prison in Iran, located in northwestern Tehran. [http://www.prisons.ir/en/] . It is notorious for its political prisoners' wing, from before the 1979 Iranian Revolution and since.

Evin was designed and built in 1971 during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi at the foot of the Alborz mountains on what had been the home of Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee. It was run by SAVAK and originally designed to house 320 inmates -- 20 in solitary cells, and 300 in two large communal blocks. By 1977, it housed more than 1500, with 100 solitary cells. [Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions (1999), p.105]

Under the Islamic Republic, the prison population was again expanded significantly, holding 15,000 inmates according to scholar Ervand Abrahamian. [Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions (1999), p.135-6] "In theory, Evin was a detention center for those awaiting trial," after which the prisoners would be transferred to another prison, Qezel Hesar or Gohar Dast. "In reality, Evin served as a regular prison as many waited years before being brought to trial," and prominent prisoners often served their entire sentences in Evin." Execution also took place at Evin. [Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions (1999), p.135] Following the Islamic Revolution Mohammad Kachouyi was made warden of Evin. After his assassination in June 1981, Asadollah Lajevardi, the chief prosecutor of Tehran, was warden [Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions (1999), p.136] until 1985.

Photography in front of and around the prison is illegal. On 23 June 2003, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking photographs in front of the prison, an imprisonment which led to her beating and death in Iranian custody. Doctors examining Kazemi found evidence of rape, torture and skull fracture. The Iranian government alleged that she died from a stroke whilst being interrogated. [" [http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/kazemi/ INDEPTH: ZAHRA KAZEMI] " CBC News Online | Updated November 16, 2005 Retrieved 25/09/07]

Notable prisoners at Evin before the 1979 revolution include Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani and Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri.

Marina Nemat spent two years in Evin from 1982, having participated in anti-revolutionary protests at her school. She has written about her torture and the death of her fellow students at the prison.

Recent notable political prisoners held at Evin have included Akbar Ganji (held there from 2000 to 2006), Mohsen Sazegara (in 2003), Nasser Zarafshan, as well as Hamid Pourmand (2005-6), Dariush Zahedi, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, on charges of espionage (2003), subsequently acquitted in 2004, and Ramin Jahanbegloo (2006).

The prison is located in a residential and commercial area known as "Evin", next to the Saadat Abad district. There is a large park area with a popular upscale teahouse and restaurant located immediately next to it.

At dawn on 27 July 2008, the Iranian Government executed a total of 29 people at Evin Prison by hanging. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7527431.stm]

See also

*Human rights in Islamic Republic of Iran
*1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners
*Towhid Prison
*Prison 59
*Gohardasht Prison
*Prison 209

References and notes

External links

* [http://iranhr.net Iran Human rights] , a site with the latest updates on some violations of the human rights situation in Iran
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5077180.stm Inside Iran's most notorious jail] , BBC News report on a visit to the prison given by a group of domestic and foreign journalists.
* Abrahamian, Ervand, " [http://books.google.com/books?id=_mnrYNIVfCgC&dq=tortured+confessions&pg=PP1&ots=npY_9X0Vwe&sig=hGGzHDuBgymrdArr3rrSuaO4sAA&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS227US227&q=tortured+confessions&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail Tortured Confessions] ," University of California Press, 1999