A prisoner in a message sent from Tehran Great Prison says that after attacks around the prison, prisoners are facing severe shortage of water and food, complete disconnection from the outside, and extremely difficult living conditions.
Iran Human Rights Society, Saturday, March 14, 2026 – While military attacks on some areas continue, reports from inside Tehran Great Prison about the critical situation of prisoners have been published. According to a message sent by one of the prisoners, living conditions in this prison have become severely difficult after attacks around it, and prisoners are facing shortage of water, food, and basic living facilities.
Prisoners’ Attempts to Exit Tehran Great Prison
According to the statements of one of the prisoners, after an attack that was carried out around Tehran Great Prison, a number of prisoners tried to leave the prison. According to him, NAJA forces prevented the prisoners from leaving by using various weapons.
This prisoner explains this situation as follows:
“From the day they hit around Tehran Great Prison, we tried to leave the prison, but NAJA dispersed all of us by direct firing of pellet bullets, tear gas, and finally live ammunition.”
According to him, after this incident, the conditions inside the prison have become significantly worse, and prisoners are facing serious problems in meeting basic life needs.
Severe Shortage of Water and Food in Tehran Great Prison
This prisoner continues his message by pointing to the severe shortage of water and food in Tehran Great Prison. He says that prisoners have even faced problems in accessing drinking water.
He says about this: “Since that day, we do not have proper food rations nor water. We do not even have water for drinking, nor even for bathing.”
According to this prisoner, living conditions in the prison have become so difficult that prisoners are deprived of the most basic living facilities. He also says: “We do not have basic living facilities. Our conditions are in the worst state.”
Power Outages and Complete Gas Cutoff in the Prison
In continuation of this message, reference is made to infrastructure problems in the prison. This prisoner says that repeated power outages and complete gas cutoff have made living conditions more difficult.
He explains about this: “Electricity is cut off and on. Gas is completely cut off. We have very bad conditions.”
This prisoner also compares the current situation of Tehran Great Prison with past conditions and says that the current conditions are even more difficult than the time when some prisoners were transferred from Evin Prison to this prison.
He says about this: “When Evin was hit and they brought us to Tehran Great Prison, we had very difficult conditions, but it was better than now.”
Disconnection of Prisoners from the Outside
One of the other concerns raised in this message is the possibility of complete disconnection of prisoners from the outside of the prison. This prisoner says that the credit of prison phones is about to run out and some devices have also been disconnected.
He says about this:“It is the worst possible conditions. Our phone credits are running out. The devices are disconnected. Communication with the outside of the prison is completely about to be cut off.” According to him, if the phones are completely cut off, prisoners will practically have no way to communicate with their families and inform about their situation.
Lack of Basic Living Facilities
This prisoner also points to the absence of many essential items in the prison. He says that the prison shop is not active and prisoners do not even have access to the simplest daily items.
He says about this:“We do not even have cigarettes to smoke. There is no shop, there are no cigarettes. The conditions are deplorable.” According to him, the absence of these facilities indicates the very difficult living situation in the prison.
Concern About Sealing the Prison Doors
In another part of this message, prisoners have expressed concern about actions being taken inside the prison. This prisoner says that the prison doors are being welded.
He warns that in the event of a missile attack, prisoners will not have the possibility to exit and save their lives.
This prisoner says about this:“In these conditions, they are welding all the doors. Instead of thinking about our survival, they are making the conditions harder so that even if a missile hits, we cannot save ourselves.” He says at the end of his message: “They intend to kill us in these conditions.”
Necessity of Implementing Resolution 211 for the Protection of Prisoners
With the increase in concerns about the situation of prisoners in wartime conditions, the issue of implementing Resolution 211 has been raised again. According to this resolution, in critical and wartime conditions, actions must be taken to protect the lives of prisoners.
However, the published reports from Tehran Great Prison show that prisoners are still facing severe shortage of facilities and difficult living conditions.
In such conditions, human rights activists have repeatedly emphasized that the implementation of Resolution 211 can play an important role in protecting the lives of prisoners in crisis conditions.
Human Rights Violations in Tehran Great Prison
The reported situation in Tehran Great Prison can be in conflict with fundamental principles of human rights.
- Violation of the right to humane conditions of detention – Mandela Rules: Severe shortage of water, food, gas cutoff, and lack of basic living facilities can be contrary to international standards for the treatment of prisoners.
- Violation of the right to life and health – Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Keeping prisoners in conditions where access to drinking water, food, and sanitary services is limited can put their health and lives at risk.
- Violation of the right to personal security – Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Welding prison doors and lack of emergency exit possibility in case of attack can threaten the security of prisoners.
- Violation of legal obligation in emergency conditions – Resolution 211 of the Supreme Judicial Council: Failure to implement this resolution in wartime conditions can mean disregarding the legal obligation to protect the lives of prisoners.
See also the below articles:
- UN Fact-Finding Board Warns: Civilians Trapped in Iran War and Regime Repression
- Threats to Shoot in the Shadow of War; Police Commander’s Threat Regarding the Suppression of Street Protests
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