Letters from Evin: What Political Prisoners Want the World to Know

Evin Prison is not just a detention center—it is a symbol. Perched at the foot of the Alborz Mountains in northern Tehran, it has, for decades, been synonymous with the Islamic Republic’s brutal suppression of dissent. Inside its high walls are journalists, students, artists, lawyers, labor leaders, women’s rights activists, and anyone who dared challenge the regime’s authority.

This article amplifies the letters, testimonies, and leaked notes from political prisoners inside Evin. Through their words, we understand not only the regime’s cruelty—but also the strength of conscience, resilience, and hope in the face of unimaginable oppression.

1. Life Inside Evin: A Routine of Humiliation and Control

Political prisoners describe a day-to-day existence shaped by psychological warfare. The lights never go off. Meals are intentionally inadequate or spoiled. Access to medical care is weaponized—offered selectively or denied altogether. Prisoners sleep on the floor, often in overcrowded rooms with no ventilation.

Solitary confinement, known as “white torture,” is one of the most devastating tools used against political detainees. It has broken the minds of countless activists. In her letter from prison, Atena Daemi, a children’s rights activist, wrote:

“The silence of solitary confinement isn’t quiet. It screams. It claws at your sanity.”

These are not exaggerations—they’re daily lived reality.

2. The Sound of Resistance: Secret Letters as Acts of Defiance

Smuggled letters from Evin often reach the outside world through family visits, attorneys, or brave prison staff. They are written on scraps of paper, hidden inside food containers or clothing seams.

One of the most powerful letters came from Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of Iran’s most persistent voices for human rights:

“The walls of Evin cannot silence truth. For every time I am pushed to the ground, a new voice rises.”

These letters document abuses but also connect imprisoned Iranians to the outside world, reminding us they are alive, aware, and resisting.

3. The Price of Protest: Who Is Sent to Evin?

During the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement following the death of Mahsa Amini, hundreds of young women were arrested and sent to Evin. Many were students—barely 20 years old. Others were labor activists, Kurdish political figures, or even dual nationals accused of “spying.”

Their letters have a consistent message:

 • They were beaten during arrest.

 • Denied access to attorneys.

 • Held incommunicado for weeks.

 • Tried in sham courts without evidence.

A letter from a female university student reads:

“They told me I could walk free if I ‘confessed’ to foreign collusion. I refused. So they dragged me into solitary and turned off the lights. For three days. I counted the hours with my breath.”

4. Torture and Psychological Abuse: Documented in Prisoners’ Own Words

What happens inside Evin is not a mystery. Letters consistently describe:

 • Beatings with cables and batons.

 • Mock executions.

 • Threats of rape against women and their family members.

 • Sleep deprivation and continuous interrogation.

 • Forcing prisoners to watch torture of others.

One former detainee, in a published letter in 2023, described being forced to sit in stress positions for 12 hours, blindfolded, as guards played recordings of screams from the next cell. He wrote:

“They don’t want you to die. They want to break your soul and watch you live with it.”

These aren’t isolated reports. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN Special Rapporteurs have corroborated much of this.

5. Evin in Wartime: A Prison More Vulnerable Than Ever

During the missile exchanges between Iran and Israel in 2025, families feared that Evin would be bombed or caught in the chaos.

The regime locked down communication even further. Letters during this period spoke of increased beatings, forced loyalty pledges, and denial of basic medical care.

One Kurdish activist smuggled out this plea:

“We are political prisoners. We are not terrorists. If the world does not hear our voices now, we may not live to speak again.”

This desperation underscores how political prisoners become doubly victimized—by their own government, and by the world’s silence.

6. The Stories Behind the Names: Who Are These Prisoners?

Let us remember their names—not as statistics, but as voices of Iran’s conscience.

 • Narges Mohammadi – Sentenced repeatedly for peaceful activism, denied medical care despite heart conditions.

 • Sepideh Qoliyan – A labor rights activist who detailed prison abuse and defied forced confessions.

 • Nasrin Sotoudeh – A human rights attorney whose letters have been published worldwide, despite imprisonment.

 • Majid Tavakoli – A student leader from the 2009 Green Movement, held repeatedly in solitary.

Their letters serve as both documentation and protest.

7. Messages to the World: What Prisoners Ask of Us

Nearly every smuggled letter contains a similar refrain: “Do not forget us. Speak our names.”

Here’s what they ask:

 • Raise their voices. Use social media, media coverage, art, and film to spread awareness.

 • Hold the IRGC accountable. Many abuses inside Evin are coordinated by IRGC-affiliated security agencies.

 • Support legal mechanisms like universal jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible.

 • Demand access for UN human rights inspectors and organizations like the ICRC.

8. The Role of Diaspora and Activists Abroad

Iranian communities in Berlin, Toronto, London, and Paris have hosted “Letters from Evin” readings—public events where actors and citizens read actual letters aloud to raise awareness. International legal campaigns have used these letters in evidence dossiers.

Digital archives now preserve these texts, translating them into multiple languages, ensuring the regime cannot erase them.

9. Hope as Resistance: Why These Letters Matter

In a regime built on fear and silence, the act of writing is revolutionary.

Even a single word smuggled out of Evin is a protest. Each letter undermines the regime’s control and amplifies Iran’s hidden reality. These prisoners write not for pity—but to continue the fight they were arrested for.

Conclusion

The letters from Evin are not just accounts of suffering—they are blueprints for courage. They testify that Iran’s bravest voices remain unbroken behind bars. They remind the free world of its responsibility.