Female Prisoners Transferred to Evin Prison’s ‘Methadone Ward’

Following news of the transfer of several prisoners of conscience from Evin prison’s Women’s Ward to the prison’s “Methadone Ward,” where drug addicts are kept, the sister of Mahdieh Golroo confirmed the transfer. Marzieh Golroo told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that after the telephone privileges of these prisoners were cut off, they were moved to the Methadone Ward by prison authorities. Marzieh Golroo added that she will find out from her sister precisely what occurred. While several female political prisoners have been moved to the Women’s Prison Quarantine Ward and telephone privileges cut off, their families have been able to find out about these developments through information from cellmates. Marzieh Golroo told Campaign about the transfer and her lack of information about her sister’s condition after the transfer. “Someone called Mahdieh’s husband from the prison and told him that telephone contacts are cut off and the prisoners are no longer able to make calls. The person called again a little while later to say that all women with political charges have been moved to the Methadone Ward,” said Marzieh Golroo. The imprisoned student’s sister told the Campaign that the cellmates of the transferred women have contacted all the political prisoners’ families about the developments. “We thought the telephone disruption was due to November 4 [Student Day in Iran]. But now we can’t speculate what may have happened to take them to the drug addicts’ ward. We will wait until Tuesday, the visitation day, to talk to Mahdieh herself and learn what happened,” she said. According to the pro-Mousavi website Kalame, female political prisoners were transferred to the Methadone Quarantine Ward by prison authorities as punishment for objecting to the disruption of their access to phone calls.