Evin prison: visiting hall officials beat the brother of a female political prisoner

Officials at the visiting hall of Evin prison severely beat the brother of a female political prisoner during a visit on Sunday, 11 October 2026. Sources familiar with the situation of female political prisoners in Evin told Iran International that a man named Rezaei, the head of the visiting hall, and Mobaraki, his deputy, beat the man in front of children and threw him out of the hall with vulgar sexual insults.

According to these sources, the prisoner's family had travelled to Tehran from one of the provincial towns after months and had arranged the visit in advance. The prison warden had approved two visiting sessions, and the prisoner herself had been told of the approval, but the officials at the visiting hall ignored it. The names of the prisoner and her brother have not been published, and the authorities of the prison and the judiciary of the Islamic Republic have not responded to the report.

New restrictions on female political prisoners in Evin

The incident comes amid growing pressure on female political prisoners in Evin. According to the same sources, the duration of in-person visits for these prisoners, previously one hour, has been cut to 20 minutes in recent months, as the crackdown has intensified. The phone calls of nine female political prisoners were cut off earlier, and now Zahra Karami's phone calls have also been cut off for one month.

Denying prisoners visits and contact with their families is a well-known tool of pressure on political prisoners in the Islamic Republic. In recent days, the death sentence of Amirhasan Akbari Monfared, a student imprisoned in Evin, was upheld by the Supreme Court and Nahid Khodajoo, a labour activist, was arrested again.

Officials at Evin's visiting hall beat the brother of a female political prisoner in front of children, even though the prison warden had approved the visit.