As nationwide protests continue across Iran, new testimony from former political prisoners reveals a pattern of abuse that reaches far beyond the clashes seen on the streets. Their accounts suggest a system built to silence dissent through violence, intimidation and the threat of swift execution.
Accounts of Violence Behind Prison Walls
Three former detainees who spoke about their experiences described beatings, medical neglect, prolonged solitary confinement and tactics meant to instill fear. Their stories span nearly two decades of unrest, beginning with the 2009 demonstrations and continuing through the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
Maryam Shariatmadari, known internationally for removing her hijab during the Girls of Revolution Street protest, was sentenced to one year in prison in 2018 for what authorities called “encouraging corruption by removing her hijab.”
Speaking about the current wave of unrest, she said the scale of the demonstrations has pushed the system beyond its limits. “According to the testimonies of eyewitnesses, the suppressive forces of the Islamic Republic … are delivering ‘final shots’ to wounded protesters, killing them on the spot,” she said. “This has been unprecedented over the past 47 years and indicates that the number of detainees has become so large that the Islamic Republic no longer has the capacity to hold them and is killing them without any form of trial.”
She added that detention methods evolved during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. “They used ambulances and food transport vehicles to detain protesters, something I believe to be unprecedented in human history,” she said.
Inside holding facilities, she described routine violence. “These include beatings, transfers to prisons without separation based on the type of offense and the deliberate incitement of other inmates to harass and abuse us,” she said.
Shariatmadari also recounted one of her most distressing interrogations. “I was ordered to remove my clothes and remain completely naked for a body search while cameras were present,” she said. “I knew that men were watching me, and I could hear their voices.”
She noted that medical care was withheld after an injury.
“Only after approximately 24 hours was I taken to a hospital to undergo surgery,” Shariatmadari said.
“I believe this happened as a result of media pressure and public support.”
Long Hours of Interrogation
Her husband, journalist Mehdi Ghadimi, was arrested in early 2023 and taken to an undisclosed location. Most of his detention was spent alone. “I was interrogated twice daily, morning and afternoon, for eight hours with my eyes blindfolded,” Ghadimi said.
In the final days of his custody, he encountered detainees from a wide range of backgrounds. “I encountered students, workers, technical specialists and others who had been arrested during the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement,” he said.
He recalled that one group was targeted more severely. “Because their slogans and symbols supported the Pahlavi dynasty, they were beaten far more than the others,” he said.
Ghadimi, who later fled Iran, believes the current detainees are facing conditions even harsher than those he experienced. “I can only imagine that this time all detainees will face similarly brutal treatment,” he said. He added that unofficial estimates circulating among activists far exceed the reported figures. He said the number of detainees is likely much higher than the 10,000 reported.
Fear of Mass Executions
For former prisoner Shabnam Madadzadeh, who was detained in 2009, the recent protests have brought back memories of intense abuse. “What immediately comes to my mind is the regime’s sheer brutality in torture and killing,” Madadzadeh said.
She said overcrowding was already severe during her own detention. “There was no space left for detainees. Even the solitary cells were overflowing with people,” she said.
Interrogations frequently involved accusations of ties to the Mujahedin-e Khalq, along with brutal beatings. During one session, she said an interrogator delivered a chilling warning. “He told me, ‘If we are going to be overthrown, we will kill all of you. We will leave no one alive,’” she said.
Madadzadeh warned that the current internet blackout in Iran has created even greater risks. “We truly do not know what level of brutality is currently taking place inside the prisons,” she said. She also expressed concern that authorities may attempt to carry out rapid executions.
She pointed to past events as evidence of what could unfold next. “Today, at a moment when the regime is on the brink of collapse, there is a real danger that such a massacre could be repeated,” she said.
She added that detainees are likely enduring forced confessions, mock executions and threats of sexual violence. She recalled the words of an interrogator. “Whatever I do to you, no one will hear your voice,” he once told her.
Madadzadeh also described the suffering of families searching for missing relatives. “Families are moving between detention centers, prisons, morgues and cemeteries,” she said. “This uncertainty itself is the greatest form of torture.”
Calls for International Attention
As protests continue, the former detainees urged the international community not to look away.
Shariatmadari said, “The first thing I expect the free world to understand is the true voice of the people inside Iran. The people of Iran are united in their demand for regime change and want to restore Iran to its former dignity, a dignity in which human rights and human worth were respected.”
Ghadimi emphasized the gap between what is visible and what is hidden. “Without a doubt, when the regime displays such open violence in the streets, even worse atrocities occur behind prison walls,” he said. “I can only imagine that this time all detainees will face similarly brutal treatment.”
Madadzadeh urged urgent action. “The world must respond decisively to this brutality,” she said. “Every minute of delay costs lives.”
She also called for direct oversight. “Force the regime to allow independent visits to prisons and to the secret detention centers run by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence,” Madadzadeh said. “Lives depend on it.”
Their combined testimony portrays Iran’s detention system as a concealed arena of repression, warning that the worst abuses may be occurring far from public view.
