Famed Iranian Director and Actress Debut Cannes Film Post-Iran Escape

The prisoners, who are detained in the covert prison cells at Urmia Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province, say they were "illegally" transferred to these cells as a form of "punishment."

In a letter addressed to the head of the Iran Prisons Organization and international human rights groups, they describe the cells as so overcrowded that it is impossible for them to sleep.

About 20 prisoners from the “regular” ward and 19 prisoners from the “hidden” prison ward collaborated to write the letter.

Some prisoners have reportedly been confined in these cramped 30-square-meter blocks for six months, with their families uninformed about their conditions and no officials visiting these wards.

The letter also stated that prisoners who protest their conditions are "tortured" and denied medical treatment. The prisoners demanded a visit from an official and expressed their deep despair, stating, "We are disappointed with life and even see our comfort in death."

In February, over 800 prisoners at Urmia Central Prison called for the removal of the prison's chief, alleging mistreatment had contributed to the increase in suicide incidents.

According to Amnesty International, prisoners in Iran are “subjected to cruel and inhuman conditions, including extreme overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, poor ventilation, infestation with mice or insects, and poor or no access to bedding, toilet and washing facilities.”

Often, prison officials and prosecution authorities intentionally deny prisoners adequate medical treatment, including for injuries sustained during torture.

In 2021, a hacktivist group calling itself Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) leaked videos and confidential documents allegedly exposing the systematic mistreatment of inmates in Iranian prisons.

In an Instagram post, Ebadi wrote that the homage is being held despite the UN fact-finding mission recently categorizing the violence committed by the Islamic Republic as a "crime against humanity."

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has also reported widespread violations of human rights in Iran for years.

Ebadi, a former judge who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her pioneering human rights work in Iran, asked UN chiefs to call Raisi by the same term that "Iranians call him: Butcher of Tehran."

She contended that the UN's assertion that the ceremony follows protocol is incorrect, as Raisi is not Iran's highest political official.

"Ali Khamenei is the highest political and military official in the Islamic Republic. When he dies, the UN can hold a quadruple memorial ceremony for him along with Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Hitler," she added.

In March, a UN fact-finding mission determined that the Iranian regime had committed crimes against humanity in its crackdown on 2022 protests, which included killings, imprisonment, torture, and sexual violence.

The UN Human Rights Council established the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in November 2022, two months after the Woman, Life, Freedom protests swept the country following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody, during which over 550 porters were killed and thousands were detained.

"The Islamic Republic's record is too tarnished and disgraceful for its officials to be honored in a venue that upholds principles of justice, fairness, and conscience," Ebadi further said.

Western leaders' condolence messages following the deaths of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian have sparked immediate and harsh criticism among Iranians – and others.

Critics believe that offering condolences to such a regime implicitly legitimizes its actions, which encompass suppressing dissent, supporting terrorism, and committing ongoing human rights violations.

During the 1980s, Ebrahim Raisi served on a "Death Panel" that oversaw the execution of at least two thousand Iranian political prisoners.

On Monday, a minute of silence was observed at the UN Security Council meeting for Raisi and his delegation, and the UN flag was flown at half-mast at its New York headquarters.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the observance and asked the council, “What's next? Will there be a vigil for Hitler? We wouldn’t be surprised.”

US Republican Senator Ted Cruz also criticized the Biden administration's condolence message and the UN's decision to fly its flag at half-mast.

The statement, published on Thursday, claimed that the helicopter was on its designated flight path at the time of the accident and that "no bullet marks or similar damage" were found on the aircraft parts found at the crash site.

The helicopter carrying President Raisi and seven others, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, crashed in heavy fog while crossing mountainous terrain near the border with Azerbaijan last Sunday, resulting in the deaths of all on board.

The report mentioned that the flight's pilot communicated with the two accompanying helicopters "about a minute and a half before the crash" but did not specify the nature of the call. No suspicious activity was allegedly detected in the communications between the control tower and the flight group.

Notably, the report also mentioned that the Iranian public should not pay attention to what he referred to as “unverified and speculative comments”, especially those spread by “foreign media on social media.”

Broadcasting from Iran is controlled by the Islamic Republic and reflects its official ideology. While opinions step out of those bonds online sometimes, the authorities often target and jail those who step out of line with the regime’s narratives, making Iran one of the world's most repressive countries for journalists.

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, state media presented numerous conflicting reports of what happened. That, combined with the apparent disregard for protocols, namely allowing a permit to be issued during a weather amber warning, and Raisi’s profile role as the next potential next Supreme Leader, has raised doubts and mystery around whether this was an accident.

The authorities face intensive scrutiny, including from domestic politicians, and the media inside Iran, who demand clear explanations and transparency regarding the cause of the crash.

Speaking with the Emtedad outlet, Raeisian said Nabavi “has not been able to communicate with his family members for days, so we cannot be certain about his condition."

This news follows Nabavi's open letter two weeks ago, in which he detailed the severe conditions caused by the infestation, including prolonged periods without sleep.

In response to the accusations, the Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, denied the presence of bedbugs in Evin Prison, describing the facility as one of the nation's "cleanest and most orderly prisons."

Human rights groups have long documented a history of severe human rights abuses at the notorious prison in the nation’s capital. Inmates endure beatings, sexual harassment, and deliberate neglect when in need of medical care. The prison suffers from chronic overcrowding and routinely employs solitary confinement.

Last week, Tehran's Taleghani Hospital announced that it would no longer accept dialysis patients from Evin Prison, citing the presence of bed bugs brought in by the inmates.

In a post on X, former political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian said that the hospital had sent the head of Evin's medical department a sample canister of bedbugs to substantiate the allegation.

Nabavi, who has long been targeted by authorities, was imprisoned last March for his role in a protest against chemical attacks and serial poisoning of female students across the country. The attacks affected thousands of young students, with hundreds requiring medical attention.

Some Iranians, women and men, posted nude photos of themselves to rejoice in the news.

Using nudity to express joy over Raisi's death is a way to release from a form of "suffocation," said Hanieh Ziaei, a political scientist and associate researcher at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Montreal.

"They feel suffocated. So they want to just open everything and it's maybe the expression of this kind of suffocation," said Ziaei.

The call to go nude to celebrate Raisi's death reportedly started off with a tweet by an Iranian social media influencer who allegedly posted to X at the time of Raisi's disappearance that if he is dead she would pose a naked photo.

Iran International is not revealing the account for their safety. It is not known whether she meant it as a joke, a dare or a form of political expression, but it did lead to some Iranians joining the call and going nude. What seemingly started off as a bet, turned into a viral trend.

Given the forced policing of women and even men's bodies in the Islamic Republic, the use of the body to overcome oppression, according to Siavash Rokni, who specializes in subcultures and social movements in social media, fits with the narrative of defying oppression.

Raisi, he said, is the epitome of oppression.

"Nudity and body has always been a taboo. And it has also been an object or something to protest with."

Rokni told Iran International that you don't have to go far back in history to see examples.

"The hippie movement, an anti-war movement in the 1960s and 70s would be an example of it. More recent, the Femen movement that started in Europe and has gone to other countries in North America and Asia, is an example of using nudity as a form of protest movement. The big piece in this whole story is the fact that a body is a form of speech."

Rokni said by going nude, these Iranians started a conversation against patriarchy and against the taboo of body shaming that has been in Iranian society, especially since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said.

"Raisi took lives. He was a murderer, but he also suppressed bodies. When people are sharing their bodies, they're literally going against this patriarchy in our society, but they're going specifically against Raisi and the crimes that he committed for the past 40 years," said Rokni.

Raisi, the so-called 'Butcher of Tehran', was one of four judges who sat on a prosecution committee in 1988 that ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners - some were reportedly as young as 13 years old.

Raisi denied his role in the 1988 massacre, but in 2021, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard urged an investigation of the President for his alleged "crimes against humanity" while he was head of the judiciary.

The conservative hardline cleric took office in August 2021 and was known for enforcing brutal crackdowns on political opposition, and for policing women's bodies.

A recent UN Fact Finding Mission found various cases of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence like gang rape and electric shocks to the genitals. It also uncovered the use of AI technology to identify and punish women who didn't follow the country's strict dress code.

Ziaei said "the body is forbidden," in Iran and by going nude, "it's another way to express their frustration."

"The body is becoming a political space," said Ziaei.

However, it could also be used by cyberbots of the Islamic Republic to discredit the Women-Life-Freedom movement, and it wouldn't be the first time an Iranian women's body was used against her, said Ziaei.

By publishing some nude photos, cyberbots, possibly working for the regime, might try to tell more traditionalist Iranians that this is what opposition activists do. If you trust them and follow their lead, your families can also lose their moral compass.

In 2015, actress and human rights activist Golshifteh Farahani posed nude in a French magazine, and received backlash.

Ziaei said that photo can be seen as a "symbolic act."

Rokni said the negative backlash only exposed the patriarchy in Iranian society.

"Iranians obsessed over the fact that Golshifteh Farahani an Iranian, you know, showed a nude photo of herself, which is interesting because it is okay for the French to be nude, but once it's an Iranian, it's different for some reason. So it just shows you how we have a problem with body," said Rokni.

Iranian-Canadian Lily Pourzand, an expert in gender equality, came to Farahani's defense at the time and said she paid a price for it.

"Part of the society feels that they own women's body," said Pourzand.

As a gender equality expert, Pourzand said, she can't comment on whether going nude after the President's death is effective, but she said it does carry much symbolism.

"That act of protest, which should showcase itself in celebration mood, I think it's a message. That's saying no to the governmental ideology and forceful ownership over women's body, over women's life in Iran," she said.

Pourzand said it could be seen as taking back ownership of one's body.

Whether the nude photos posted in the wake of Raisi's death to celebrate his end, were done in fun, a dare or an act of defiance, is not known but what is known, said Rokni, is nudity is a form of resistance to reclaim control in a repressed society that stands for gender apartheid.

"After the revolution, one of the points that really solidified the Islamic Republic was the domination over body. Domination over body of women by putting scarves over their heads, putting hijab over their heads, but also domination of men by asking them not to wear short sleeved shirts," said Rokni.