Iran: My Sister Marzieh Is in Evin Prison

By Hossein Farsi

I was a political prisoner in Iran for 12 years, through the 1980s, and now I live outside of Iran.

I am aware of the brutal treatment of prisoners and their torture by Iranian regime agents. During my imprisonment, I was worried and anxious for many days and nights. I remembered that Lajevardi, the head of the prisons, had jokingly told us, “I am the custodian of the treasury. The country does not have extra bread to feed you. We feed you just enough to not die so we can execute all of you ourselves” In those days, my sister Marzieh Farsi, who was 22 years old, was coming to visit me to ease my pain.

Marzieh Farsi

The Massacre of the summer of 1988 is a historic event. In this massacre, at the behest of Khomeini, 30,000 political prisoners were secretly executed in prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran, most in August and September 1988, and buried in mass graves.

Now, more than 30 years after those bloody events, the prisons are still the same, torture is the same, but we hope the regime cannot continue much longer. This time it is my sister who is arrested and I do not have the possibility of meeting her. I am supporting her from abroad, but with another difference, Coronavirus has cast its ominous shadow over the prisons.

Early on the morning of February 5, 2020, cars stopped in front of the door of Marzieh’s house. Three to four people were waiting outside in the car, and five to six people raided her home.

They searched everywhere, even under the carpets. They took a computer, cameras, cell phones, all the papers they came across, photographs and albums. They did not have any legal papers, just said we must hurry to go with them.

In this raid, the agents of the Ministry of Intelligence of the Iranian regime arrested 8 people in Tehran: Ahmad Farsi (my brother) along with his wife and their two children, Marzieh Farsi (my sister), her husband and their two children, without any court order. Ahmad Farsi’s family was released after about three weeks of interrogation and intimidation. His sister’s husband and their two children will also be released after a month of interrogation, psychological torture, and intimidation, but Marzieh Farsi is still being held in Evin Prison under torture and interrogation by the Iranian regime Ministry of Intelligence agents. Marzieh, 53, has both heart disease and cancer. Last year, in 2019, she underwent surgery for cancer.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic in Evin prison and Marzieh’s illness, her life is in danger. Marzieh is a political opponent of the Iranian regime and, with fabricated security charges in connection with her case, may face the death penalty or a long prison term.

I call on the international community, human rights organizations, and the media to save my sister Marzieh. My sister Marzieh’s health is in danger.