Denial of In-Person Visits for Prisoners in Sheiban Prison, Ahwaz; Severe Psychological Pressure and Neglect of Human Rights

Denial of In-Person Visits for Prisoners in Sheiban Prison, Ahwaz; Severe Psychological Pressure and Neglect of Human Rights

Information received by the Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights indicates that prisoners in Sheiban Central Prison – which is under the supervision of Iran’s central authorities – have been deprived of the right to in-person visits with their families for over two months.

Based on reliable information obtained through cooperating human rights organizations, and considering serious security concerns regarding the families of political prisoners in Ahwaz that prevent the disclosure of the source’s identity, the Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights has learned that:

According to this source, no clear reason has been provided for this prohibition, and many prisoners, including a close relative of the source, have been prevented from seeing and embracing their young children.

This testimony was provided by a member of a political prisoner’s family, who has also previously been imprisoned in Sheiban Prison, Ahwaz. He emphasized that this prohibition, especially under the difficult physical and mental conditions of the prisoners, has caused severe psychological pressure, increasing anxiety, longing, and feelings of loneliness among them.

According to this source, the ban has caused widespread psychological distress among prisoners, and this decision is undoubtedly another one of the repressive policies implemented by Khosrow Tarafi in managing the prison.

He further stressed that Khosrow Tarafi has previously been known for harsh behavior, disrespect for prisoners’ rights, and issuing punitive orders, and that his decisions now mostly harm prisoners and exacerbate inhumane conditions within the prison.

The Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights, expressing deep concern over the ongoing violation of the human rights of prisoners in Sheiban Prison, which is controlled by Iran’s central authorities, calls for:

The immediate end to the prohibition of in-person visits,

The restoration of the legal right of all prisoners to family visits,

Accountability of prison officials regarding arbitrary decisions that violate human rights.

This center also reminds that, according to international law, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, maintaining contact with family, including through in-person visits, is a fundamental right of prisoners that no authority or institution can arbitrarily violate.

30 September 2025 / 8 Mehr 1404
Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights

https://acfh.info