Prisoners in Iran at risk

Urgent action to demand protection for prisoners in Iran at risk from ongoing air strikes.

Urgent action to demand protection for prisoners in Iran at risk from ongoing air strikes.

Release at-risk prisoners

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

Amid air strikes by the United States and Isreal near prisons and the targeting of security facilities where detainees are commonly held, the Iranian authorities have released some prisoners, according to reports by human rights defenders. However, the authorities are refusing to release all those arbitrarily detained, including those held for political reasons, and refusing to grant temporary humanitarian release to others, knowingly leaving them at grave risk of death or serious harm. Detained children are amongst those at risk.

Prisoners’ families and human rights defenders have reported to Amnesty International that, since the attacks began and authorities shut down the internet on 28 February, explosions have taken place near Evin prison and Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary in Tehran province; Zanjan prison, Zanjan province; and Mahabad prison, West Azerbaijan province; and reported strikes targeting security facilities that hold prisoners, including Ministry of Intelligence facilities and police stations in Tehran; Mahabad and Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province; Sanandaj, Kurdistan province; and Kermanshah, Kermanshah province.

I am also gravely concerned that Iranian authorities are denying prisoners adequate food and water, and subjecting some to enforced disappearance, as well as torture and other ill-treatment, including in reprisal for protesting. On 3 March 2026, security forces fired tear gas at prisoners after they staged protests in Mahabad prison calling for their release after hearing explosions, according to Kurdistan Human Rights Network. An informed source told Amnesty International that those held in Section 209 of Evin prison, used to hold activists, dissidents and others arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence, have been moved to unidentified locations. Authorities are giving families no or contradictory information about their whereabouts.

Families’ fears about the safety of their imprisoned relatives mounted after they received information that their loved ones may have been moved to the Shahrak Mahallati complex in the Mini-City area on the outskirts of Tehran, where military commanders and personnel reside. Prisoners’ families and human rights defenders have also reported shortages of food, water, and sanitation products, including in Evin prison, Shahr-e Rey prison, and the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary.

I urge you to immediately release those arbitrarily detained, including for financial debt, and to grant humanitarian release to other prisoners, especially pre-trial detainees; those convicted of minor, non-violent offences; and those eligible for conditional release, and to disclose the fate and whereabouts of all prisoners to their families. I further urge you to fulfil Iran’s obligation under international humanitarian law to remove, to the extent feasible, all prisoners and other civilians from the vicinity of military objectives. I call on you to take all necessary measures to protect the right to life and health of all prisoners, end torture and other ill-treatment, ensure access to adequate food, water and medical care, and treat all prisoners
humanely in line with international standards. Full internet access must also be immediately restored. I also urge you to grant access to international monitors.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?