Others pass the time by reading poetry, singing, playing homemade card games and watching TV – there are two TVs where they can watch Iranian channels that show dramas, documentaries and football.
These little things supported Nasim while she was awaiting the verdict under the constant threat of execution. When the sentence was finally handed down, she received six years in prison, 74 lashes and 20 years of exile in a small town far from Tehran. She was accused of spreading propaganda and weapons against the Islamic Republic.
Despite the harshness of the sentence, Naseem felt she could breathe again and embrace the life she thought she had lost.
Three other women in the wing were sentenced to death for taking up arms against the regime or for belonging to armed groups. However, the sentence of one of them was overturned.
More than 800 people were executed in Iran last year, the highest number in eight years, according to Amnesty International. Most of them were for violent and drug-related crimes. A handful were women.
Therefore, every Tuesday, women protest against the executions, chant in the prison yard, refuse to move all night and go on hunger strikes. The campaign spread to prisons across Iran, gaining international support. On the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, women in Evin burned their headscarves.
There were consequences – sometimes guards broke into their cells and women were beaten and injured. They can also be taken in for further questioning, put back in solitary confinement, or have their phone calls and appointments blocked. Most of the guards are women, and “they’re either nice or tough and tough, depending on what orders they’re getting from higher up,” says one of our sources.
The Iranian government regularly denies allegations of human rights abuses, saying conditions at Evin prison meet all necessary standards and that prisoners are not mistreated.
