Violence Against Children Behind Prison Walls
In this brief report, the Children of Imprisoned Parents International (COIPI) shares its latest findings on the conditions of children in the mothers’ ward of Qarchak Prison. The report also reviews the situation of children who, over the past two years, have been held in inhumane conditions in Evin Prison due to their mothers’ charges, in clear violation of a wide range of children’s rights. Additionally, the report provides information on a mother and child who were imprisoned in Evin during the Israeli attack. Official reports indicate that one mother and her young child were killed as a result of the attack on Evin Prison; the mother was identified as a prison social worker.
This report is based on interviews with two former prisoners conducted on different days in July 2025 and information obtained indirectly.
This report has been updated based on detailed information received from a single source in late July 2025.
Violation of Rights and Violence Against Children in Qarchak Prison
COIPI has obtained new information on Ward 8 of Qarchak Prison, where pregnant women, mothers, and young children are held. It has been about six years since detailed information from inside this ward was last available. In its previous report published in November 2023 by Radio Zamaneh, COIPI estimated that at least 20 mothers with at least 20 children and around 10 pregnant women were held in this ward. The new data reveals that thirteen mothers, thirteen infants and young children, eight pregnant women, and twenty “Rây-e-Kâr” (work-assignment) prisoners—who are neither mothers nor pregnant—are being held in the confined space of Ward 8, designated for mothers with imprisoned children and pregnant women. The “Rây-e-Kâr” women, using their authority, have removed all the children’s toys because the children were “being naughty and making noise.” The ward comprises four rooms, each averaging around 12 square meters.
Previous COIPI research showed that overcrowding in this ward disrupted children’s sleep, rest, and mental health, leading to violence and conflict. The increased overcrowding indicates the judiciary and prison authorities’ complete disregard for children’s rights to life, growth, health, and protection from all forms of violence. Contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international standards, including the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (the Bangkok Rules), these children are subjected to prison conditions and deprived of their rights to play, recreation, and education.
According to an informed source, until a few months ago, there were some playground equipment like swings and slides in the prison yard, but due to rust and sharp edges, they became unsafe and were removed without replacement.
Children held in the mothers’ ward of Qarchak Prison are exposed to dangers inside the ward itself. The source noted that there are “seven to eight steps inside the ward, and if mothers are not careful, children could fall and get injured.” Additionally, the bathroom door in the ward cannot be closed, and “if mothers do not watch them, children crawl into the bathroom.”
Reports to COIPI also highlight the miseducation of children, noting that they use vulgar language encouraged by their mothers, who lack access to proper educational resources. Previous COIPI reports indicated that prison guards sometimes taught these profanities to children.
After the Israeli attack on Evin Prison on 23 June 2025, female prisoners were transferred to Qarchak, including “Prisoner A” and her approximately 16‑month‑old daughter, “Child a.”
For more information on the conditions in Qarchak Prison and widespread violations of children’s rights, refer to the report published by Radio Zamaneh.
Imprisonment of Infants in Ward 209 Solitary Confinement and Windowless Rooms in Evin
Before the transfer of Evin’s female prisoners to Qarchak, “Prisoner A” and her 16‑month‑old daughter, “Child a,” were held in Evin’s women’s quarantine ward. “Prisoner A” had been transferred in February 2024 from Ward 209, where she was interrogated by Ministry of Intelligence agents, to a 12‑square‑meter windowless quarantine room with limited access to general facilities. In late summer or early autumn 2024, a mother, “Prisoner B,” and her six‑month‑old son, “Child b,” were brought from Ward 209 to quarantine, followed by six female prisoners, including “Prisoner C,” who was pregnant. “Child b” and his mother left Evin in autumn of that year, and the others were released shortly before the Israeli attack. At that time, “Child c” (the daughter of “Prisoner C”) was about four months old.
A former Evin prisoner described quarantine conditions: “The room was so small that when sitting, everyone was cramped together. Later, they brought three triple bunk beds for sleeping.” The heating and cooling systems were poor, making it hot in summer and cold in winter. Additionally, for a month, the ceiling leaked due to broken upstairs bathroom pipes, with no repairs.
Holding children in prison without educational resources and minimal nutritional and health provisions constitutes a violation of their rights. Keeping them in such isolated, overcrowded, and inhumane conditions amounts to violence against children perpetrated by prison authorities, judiciary officials, and security agencies. This form of violence against children has a precedent in Evin. From November 2017 to March 2020, 16 Kurdish Sunni women and several children were held in Evin’s women’s ward under strict security. By spring 2018, after three women gave birth, five children were confined to a ward with all windows sealed, blocking natural light and fresh air. Until July 2019, eight infants and toddlers were kept without sufficient freedom of movement, special nutrition, or recreational and educational tools.
For more on the history of children’s rights violations in Evin, refer to the report published by Radio Zamaneh.
Decisions About Children Made Without Regard to Their Best Interests
“Prisoner A” spent about six months of her pregnancy in solitary and shared cells of Ward 209 under Ministry of Intelligence interrogation, with limited access to protein, fruits, and vegetables. Similarly, “Child b”’s mother spent part of her pregnancy and her son’s first six months under such conditions. After “Prisoner A”’s transfer to quarantine, her nutrition remained inadequate. During her pregnancy, another pregnant woman, Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, was held in the general ward among political prisoners, deprived of necessary medical services. She was granted leave shortly before giving birth and has not returned to prison since.
Decisions about pregnant women’s imprisonment occur without regard to their health or that of their fetus. Likewise, decisions on whether a child stays in prison or outside are made without legal or rights‑based assessments, violating the best interests of the child. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s current criminal law and its executive regulations mandate a child’s presence with the mother in prison for the first two years, with extensions decided by a prison committee. However, apart from the health or psychology officers—who lack child development expertise—no qualified personnel are involved in these decisions. COIPI has found no evidence of such committees’ existence, and ad-hoc decisions in each prison create psychological pressure on imprisoned mothers, who face the threat of their child being sent to welfare institutions—places that themselves violate children’s rights.
A former Evin prisoner described “Child b,” the child kept in solitary confinement until six months old, as “confused and bewildered”: “He neither laughed nor cried, only looked around in wonder.”
Additionally, the presence of children in prison during the Israeli attack exemplifies the authorities’ disregard for children’s lives and health. During the attack on Evin, only “Prisoner A” and her daughter “Child a” remained in quarantine. They, along with other political prisoners, sheltered under tables in the prison club. According to eyewitnesses, “Child a” “was very frightened. Her mother covered her ears, and she clung to her mother. She was in shock for two or three days, did not sleep well for two nights, breastfed more, and had diarrhea for a few days.”
COIPI has learned that eight women detained in Evin’s quarantine had children outside, who were transferred to welfare without trial or legal proceedings, ignoring their best interests. In one case, “Prisoner A” managed to retrieve her young child from welfare, with help from political prisoners, and handed the child to her family.
Evidence indicates that Child a, b, and c, in addition to the violations of their rights due to their imprisonment conditions, were also subjected to discrimination. The conditions they experienced were influenced by their mothers’ nationality, ethnic affiliation, and religion.
Evin and Qarchak Prisons: Two Examples Among Many Across Iran
What happens to imprisoned children in Evin and Qarchak is not accidental or due to isolated errors by individual officials. These examples represent the systemic violence occurring across women’s prisons and wards throughout Iran. In a comprehensive research report published in winter 2022, COIPI documented these widespread children’s rights violations. Individual reports by Hamed Farmand, COIPI’s founder and director, from 11 women’s prisons and wards, including Evin and Qarchak, provide a clearer picture of the various forms of violence against children and the violation of their rights.
The lack of transparency, absence of independent expert oversight, and the low prioritization of children’s rights—even among some activists and media—facilitate and perpetuate these violations. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran’s attention to the presence of children in prisons could help shed light on their lives and emphasize defending their rights based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, using human knowledge and experience. This could create an opportunity for these children to attain some of their rights or at least ensure their experiences are documented in the broader record of human rights violations within the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Featured Image: Qarchak Prison – Tasnim News Agency, Erfan Koochari, 21 May 2018