News

The families of female political prisoners recently transferred to a strict prison have written to the head of Iran's Islamic Human Rights Commission, Mohammad Hassan Ziaeefar, asking him to immediately address the jail's "intolerable conditions," RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

The letter, published on kaleme.com on May 8, says the lives of 600 women prisoners recently transferred to the Gharchak prison in a southern Tehran suburb are at risk.

It says they are kept in a hall without beds or access to basic washing facilities and sanitation and claims prison officials refuse to provide them with food and water on a regular basis. It says when the prisoners complain about the conditions they are beaten.

It is not clear why the women were moved to Gharchak.