Iranian authorities have transferred female prisoners from two penitentiaries with harsh living conditions to the main Evin prison in Tehran, where they can be under better surveillance.

A few days after female political prisoners were transferred from Qarchak to Evin, the political prisoners of the Fashafouyeh prisonwere also transferred to Evin on Sunday.

The transfers from Qarchak, also known as Rey or Shahr-e Rey Women Prison on July 20, and Fashafouyeh, aka the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, to Evin both were carried out abruptly and without any explanation by the authorities. 

Normally political prisoners demand to be transferred to Evin because that is where the Islamic Republic holds most of its political prisoners and Qarchak and Fashafouyeh are usually for people convicted of violent felonies and common criminals.

However, former political prisoner and civil rights activist Arash Sadeghi wrote on social media that the transfers were done with the aim of imposing restrictions and having more control on political prisoners rather than separating them based on crimes.

He added that for example there is limitations in access to telephones in Evin's women’s ward and the Ward Six of Evin – where the political prisoners of Fashafouyeh are held – is close to Ward 209 that belongs to the Intelligence Ministry, making it easier to put pressure and restrictions on the prisoners of conscience.

Moreover, considering the disastrous situations of the Qarchak and Fashafouyeh detention centers, which were being leaked out by the political prisoners, the Islamic Republic preferred to transfer them to Evin instead of closing or changing the conditions of these two prisons, he said, noting that in this way no more news from these two prisons will go out.