Top 8 Most Dangerous Prisons Inside Iran

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From the feared Ghezel Hesar Prison to one that was originally developed as a pig farm and the most feared Evin prison, welcome to the Top 8 Most Dangerous Prisons Inside Iran.  💬 COMMENT below and let us know what you think!  ✏️ Vidello Content Guarantee ✏️   We guarantee that the work you see on this channel is unique, original and created completely by ourselves in a professional recording studio using Sony Vegas 11, this also includes thumbnail images which are created in Photoshop Elements 11.   💬 SOCIAL MEDIA 💬   Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Videllopro  Twitter - https://twitter.com/William84781787  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vidello/  Medium - https://vidello.medium.com/

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00:00From the feared Gazelle Hesier prison with its severe overcrowding and dire conditions,

00:06to a prison originally designed as a pig farm, welcome to the top 8 most dangerous and terrifying

00:12prisons in Iran, where prisoners disappear into oblivion, never to be seen again.

00:19If you enjoy these longer form videos then please remember to smash the like button to help this

00:23video rise in the YouTube algorithm. We have many more videos just like this one scheduled

00:29for the rest of the year. Number 8 Karizakh prison. Karizakh prison, or more accurately the Karizakh

00:37detention centre, gained international notoriety for its egregious human rights abuses,

00:44particularly in the aftermath of Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election. Plans for the Karizakh

00:51detention centre were first made in 2001. It was not a conventional prison but rather a temporary

00:58detention centre distinct from official prisons like Evin. Under Tehran police chief Ahmad Reza Radhan,

01:06Karizakh became a key site for implementing the public security plan. This plan targeted individuals

01:14deemed to be thugs and louts, including drug addicts and those seen as endangering public morality.

01:21Reports indicate that Karizakh's cells were located underground, constructed without proper access to

01:28fresh air or adequate toilet facilities. It lacked the regulations and facilities, such as family

01:35visits found in official prisons. The facility, reportedly with a capacity of only 50 prisoners,

01:42often housed significantly more with detainees, were denied fresh air and sunlight, allowed to use the

01:50toilet only once a day and received a meagre ration of one glass of water per day. Food was scarce and

01:58poor quality, often consisting of half a potato and half a loaf of bread, or at most, a boiled egg.

02:05Accounts included severe beatings, verbal abuse, humiliation and other various forms of unspeakable

02:13suppression. Following widespread public outrage and intense criticism, including from within the

02:19political establishment, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered the closure of Karizakh detention centre in late

02:27July 2009. Several managers of the prison were sentenced to death for inflicting intentional abuse leading

02:34to the murder of many prisoners, and nine others received jail sentences and lashes. Karizakh remains

02:42a grim symbol of state-sponsored human rights violations in Iran, and highlights the severe lack

02:49of transparency and accountability within the Iranian judiciary and prison system.

02:557. Heshmatiya Prison Heshmatiya Prison is a less widely known but equally significant

03:02facility within Iran's complex and often opaque penal system that is particularly recognised for its

03:09association with political prisoners. The prison is located in the north-east of Tehran, situated on a

03:16Revolutionary Guards base and often operates with even less judicial oversight than those under the

03:24official prisons organisation. Heshmatiya is specifically noted for its political prisoners'

03:31wing than holds individuals arrested for politically motivated charges, dissenting activities or those deemed a

03:40threat to national security. Like other covert detention centres in Iran, Heshmatiya has

03:46been implicated in holding prisoners without charge and subjecting them to solitary confinement.

03:53Heshmatiya gained significant international attention in 2011 when it was suggested that

03:59prominent Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karoubi and their wives Zahra Rahnavad

04:08and Fateme Karoubi were being detained there. These individuals had been under house arrest after calling for

04:16demonstrations in solidarity with the Arab Spring protests and expressing dissent against the Iranian government.

04:25Transferred to Heshmatiya from their residences after security forces abducted them, Iranian officials

04:32initially denied their transfer to any detention facility. They were reportedly denied access to lawyers

04:39prisoners from the time of arrest. Prisoners in Iranian military facilities, especially political ones,

04:45often face overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, poor ventilation and denial of adequate food, safe drinking

04:54water and essential medical care. 6. Central Prison of Tehran

04:59More commonly known as Fashafoya Prison, the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary or Hassanabad-e-Kom Prison,

05:08Central Prison is a sprawling and relatively new correctional facility located approximately 32 kilometres

05:16south of Tehran. Opened in 2011-2012, it was designed to alleviate overcrowding in older,

05:24more notorious prisons like Evin Gohardasht and Geisel-Hessar by transferring a significant portion

05:32of their inmate populations. Fashafoya was primarily built to house suspects and inmates convicted of

05:40drug-related offences and other common crimes. However, it has increasingly been used to incarcerate

05:47political dissidents, anti-state protesters and prisoners of conscience, particularly since the

05:54widespread protests in Iran. With an official capacity of 15,000 inmates, Fashafoya is considered

06:02the largest detention facility in Iran. This immense capacity reflects the country's high incarceration

06:09rates and the need to manage a large prison population. Despite its modern construction,

06:15Fashafoya has quickly gained a reputation for extremely harsh and inhumane conditions,

06:22drawing severe criticism from human rights organisations. Prisoners often face severely

06:29limited access to running water. Accounts describe toilet facilities as mere holes in the floor,

06:35without light or proper separation, leading to incredibly unsanitary conditions. Detainees report

06:44intolerably hot conditions, with severely limited or no air ventilation, especially in quarantine units.

06:51Many prisoners are also forced to sleep on the ground due to a lack of proper bedding. Prison

06:57authorities are widely accused of deliberately delaying or refusing urgent specialised medical care,

07:03even for life-threatening conditions, and simple painkillers are often given for serious ailments,

07:09and essential medication is withheld. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were alarming reports of

07:16catastrophic outbreaks within the prison, with authorities reportedly refusing to release prisoners

07:23or provide adequate measures. The use of torture and psychological pressure to extract forced confessions

07:30is a common practice, especially for political prisoners. Disturbingly, reports in 2019 indicated

07:37hundreds of juvenile prisoners under the age of 18 were housed at Fashafoya, many undocumented.

07:45Several murders have taken place at the prison, including Ali Reza Shir Muhammad Ali in June 2019,

07:53who was stabbed to death by two death row prisoners in Fashafoya. In 2018, more than 200 Sufi Muslims

08:02belonging to the Ghanabadi order were transferred to Fashafoya after being arrested during street protests in

08:10Tehran. Their experiences further exposed the prison's harsh conditions. Reports indicate that Fashafoya

08:16holds prisoners awaiting hand amputations for petty crimes, a practice condemned as torture under

08:23international law, making it one of the most feared prisons despite its modern appearance.

08:29Number five, Vaqil Abad Prison. Also known as Mashhad Central Prison, Vaqil Abad Prison is a notoriously grim

08:38correctional facility located in the city of Mashhad, the capital of Razavi Khorasan province

08:46in northeastern Iran. It has gained a particularly infamous reputation for its high number of secret

08:52and mass executions, primarily of individuals convicted of drug-related offences, and its severe

08:59conditions for all prisoners, including political detainees. Housing a wide range of inmates, from common

09:06criminals to political prisoners, and those on death row, Vaqil Abad is consistently cited by human

09:14rights organisations as a site of grave human rights abuses. The prison is one of Iran's most active

09:21execution sites. Reports from human rights groups have documented hundreds, and possibly thousands,

09:28of executions carried out secretly at Vaqil Abad between 2010 and 2013. The vast majority of these

09:37executions have been for drug-related offences, and are often carried out after highly unfair trials,

09:44characterised by a lack of access to legal counsel, forced confessions, and swift arbitrary verdicts.

09:52A defining feature of executions at Vaqil Abad is their secrecy with prisoners, their families,

09:59and even their lawyers are frequently not informed in advance of the execution. Prison phone lines are

10:07sometimes cut off on execution days to prevent information from leaking, and families often learn

10:14about the death of their loved ones days after the fact. Many executions at Vaqil Abad occur in groups,

10:20with multiple prisoners hanged simultaneously. There have been reports of dozens of individuals

10:26executed in a single day. A significant number of those executed for drug offences at Vaqil Abad

10:32have been Afghan citizens, highlighting concerns about the disproportionate impact of Iran's anti-drug

10:40laws on foreign nationals. Like many Iranian prisons, Vaqil Abad suffers from severe overcrowding,

10:48with inmate populations often far exceeding official capacity, and reports describe poor sanitation,

10:56inadequate access to clean water, insufficient food, and a general lack of hygiene. Prisoners with serious

11:05health conditions often do not receive timely or appropriate medical treatment, leading to

11:10deterioration of health, and in some cases death. Accounts from former detainees and human rights

11:18organisations suggest that physical and psychological torture is common, particularly during interrogation

11:24and in special sections of the prison, with severe beatings, sleep deprivation, and prolonged

11:31solitary confinement regularly used. Political prisoners are frequently held alongside dangerous common

11:38criminals, including those convicted of violent offences, and many are simply cut off from the outside world.

11:46In September 2020, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Vaqil Abad prison, along with other

11:54Iranian officials and entities torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary

12:01detentions and denials of the right to liberty. Number four, Geisel Hesar prison. Located in Karaj Al-Boz province,

12:11approximately 20 kilometres northwest of Tehran, Geisel Hesar prison is one of Iran's largest and most infamous

12:19detention facilities. It has a long and troubling history marked by severe overcrowding, dire conditions,

12:26and a consistent pattern of human rights violations, particularly the execution of individuals charged

12:34with drug-related offences. Geisel Hesar has been operational for decades. While its precise initial

12:42capacity is difficult to ascertain, by 2011 it was reportedly holding around 20,000 prisoners, vastly exceeding its

12:52planned capacity. The sheer scale of its inmate population makes it one of the largest, if not the

12:59largest, state prisons in Iran and has primarily housed individuals convicted of serious crimes, with a

13:07significant proportion being drug-related offenders. However, like many prisons in Iran, it has also been

13:14used to detain and process political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, especially during periods of

13:21intensified crackdowns. Inmates live in unsanitary conditions with inadequate access to clean water,

13:29functional toilets and proper ventilation. This fosters the rapid spread of diseases. Prisoners are

13:36often forced to sleep on floors, in corridors or in shifts due to the lack of sufficient bed space. There are

13:43numerous reports of prison authorities deliberately denying specialised medical care, even for life-threatening

13:51conditions under the guise of budget constraints, and some sources even report inmates being coerced into

13:58signing waivers, renouncing their right to medical treatment. Geisel Hesar is the primary site for executions in Iran,

14:07with human rights groups frequently report on group hangings carried out at the prison. In the first five months of

14:132025 alone, at least 244 people were reportedly hanged for drug-related offences across Iran, with a significant

14:22number likely occurring in Geisel Hesar. These executions often follow grossly unfair trials where individuals

14:30are denied fundamental rights, including access to a lawyer of their choosing, protection from torture,

14:37and the right not to incriminate themselves. Former prisoners from the 1980s recount systematic torture

14:45under the notorious former warden Davud Rahmani, including techniques like the coffin and prolonged

14:53standing. Prisoners in Geisel Hesar, including political prisoners and those on death row, have frequently

15:00engaged in hunger strikes to protest the rampant executions and inhumane conditions. Geisel Hesar made

15:09headlines when a prison revolt, reportedly in protest against mass executions, led to a violent crackdown

15:16in 2011, with many prisoners killed. Number three, Karchak Prison. Officially known as the Shar-e-Ri Prison,

15:26or Varamin Prison. This notorious women's prison is located in a desert region near Varamin,

15:32approximately 30 kilometres south-east of Tehran. Opened around 2010, it has quickly gained a reputation

15:39as one of Iran's most inhumane detention facilities, often described as hell for both women and children.

15:47Crucially, Karchak Prison was not originally built as a correctional facility for humans. It was initially

15:54designed and used as a poultry farm, and this fundamental flaw in its architecture contributes

16:00significantly to the abysmal conditions. After its use as a poultry farm, it was briefly converted into

16:06a men's addiction rehabilitation centre, before being repurposed as a women's prison. No significant

16:14structural changes were made to adapt it for human habitation, leading to a profound lack of suitable

16:21infrastructure. Karchak exclusively houses female prisoners, including common criminals, political

16:28prisoners, human rights defenders and civil activists. A particularly harrowing aspect of Karchak

16:37is the detention of mothers with their young children, many of whom are born in the prison

16:42or brought there with their mothers endure the same horrific conditions, often until they are separated

16:48from their mothers at the age of two. These children are exposed to extreme hardships, unhygienic

16:55environments and lack of basic care. On average, between 1,500 and 2,000 women are held in Karchak

17:03at any given time. Drinking water is consistently reported as undrinkable, causing various gastrointestinal

17:11and kidney diseases. Thanks to it, it lacking a proper sewage system and prisoners often have to buy

17:18expensive bottled water from the prison shop. The prison is heavily infested with cockroaches, rats,

17:24salamanders, lizards, water bugs and even venomous spiders, with a handful of dilapidated toilets and showers,

17:34having to serve over 100 inmates each. Cells often have no windows and even the open air areas are

17:43restricted, leaving prisoners with minimal access to fresh air when iron gates are closed and other

17:50prisoners, held in large industrial sheds, are kept with 600 other people. The prison infirmary is

17:58severely under-equipped. Serious illnesses are often ignored or treated with only basic painkillers.

18:05Specialised medical services like dentists or ophthalmologists are rare or non-existent.

18:12Outbreaks of infectious diseases like tuberculosis, colds and flu are common and spread rapidly with

18:20contagious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B commonplace. Reports include severe beatings with

18:28batons and stun guns, particularly against political prisoners and solitary confinement is used extensively

18:36for women on death row. Karchak is often used as a punitive exile destination for female political

18:44prisoners and civil activists. They are deliberately sent there from other prisons like Evin as a form of

18:52punishment due to the particularly harsh conditions. In December 2021, the US Department of the Treasury

19:00also sanctioned the then-director of Karchak, Sogra Kodadadi, for her direct involvement in attacks on

19:08prisoners of conscience. Number 2. Gohar Dasht Prison.

19:12Widely known as Rajai Shah Prison, Gohar Dasht is a notorious maximum security prison located in

19:20Karaj Al Boz province, approximately 20 kilometres west of Tehran. It has a deeply unsettling history,

19:29particularly for its central role in the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners and its ongoing

19:36reputation for brutal conditions and systemic human rights abuses. It is crucial to note that Gohar Dasht

19:44Prison was officially evacuated and closed in August 2023. However, this closure does not detract from one

19:53of the darkest chapters in modern Iranian history, the 1988 mass executions of political prisoners. In mid-1988,

20:03following a secret fatwa from then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, thousands of political

20:10prisoners across Iran were subjected to summary trials by death commissions and subsequently executed.

20:19Gohar Dasht was a primary site for these executions, with estimates of the total number of victims nationwide

20:26ranging from 2,800 to 30,000, many of whom were executed without any legal process or for crimes that did not

20:36meet international standards for capital punishment. Many of the victims were members or sympathisers of

20:42opposition groups, particularly the People's Mujahideen of Iran, as well as various leftist and communist

20:51factions. The executions were carried out in secret, with victims often buried in unmarked mass graves,

20:58and the role of Iranian officials, including figures like Ibrahim Raisi in these death commissions,

21:05has been a subject of ongoing international investigation and calls for accountability.

21:11Before its closure, Gohar Dasht was consistently described as one of Iran's harshest prisons,

21:18with many prisoners facing particularly severe treatment at the hands of the ruling regime.

21:24Frequent physical assaults by prison guards and officials were commonplace,

21:28including extensive use of prolonged solitary confinement to force confessions.

21:34In some highly publicised cases, Gohar Dasht was the site where judicial corporal punishments,

21:41such as blinding or eye for an eye punishment, were carried out, drawing international condemnation.

21:49Severe overcrowding was a persistent issue, leading to unsanitary conditions, including inadequate access

21:56to clean water, proper ventilation and functional sanitation facilities. The closure of Gohar Dasht in

22:04August 2023, while ostensibly a move to transfer prisons outside urban areas, has been met with

22:13scepticism by human rights advocates. Prisoners from Gohar Dasht have been transferred to other already

22:19overcrowded and notorious facilities, like Geisel Hisar, potentially shifting the problem of dire

22:26conditions rather than resolving it. The demolition of the prison would serve to destroy crucial physical

22:32evidence related to the 1988 massacre and other atrocities carried out by the Ruhollah Khomeini regime.

22:40Number 1. Evin Prison. Arguably the country's most infamous and politically significant detention facility,

22:48Evin was established in 1972 under the Shah's regime, with notoriety significantly increasing

22:56after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Located in the Evin neighbourhood of Tehran, the prison has become

23:04synonymous with the incarceration of political prisoners, journalists, academics, human rights

23:10activists, dual nationals and foreign citizens. It is the most secure prison in Iran, surrounded by high

23:19walls, multiple watchtowers, multiple fences, security patrols and restricted access zones. CCTV camera

23:29coverage throughout the prison, including common areas, corridors and even within some cells is common

23:36with dedicated control rooms used to observe inmate movements and activities. Evin Prison employs

23:43electronic jamming to prevent unauthorised mobile phone use by prisoners and monitors all permitted

23:49communications and reports, even suggest parts of the prison are surrounded by a minefield.

23:56Evin serves as the main facility for detaining individuals accused of national security crimes

24:03or propaganda against the system, which are often broad charges used to target peaceful dissent.

24:10The prison houses a diverse population, including high profile political prisoners, civil rights

24:16activists, intellectuals, artists and foreign nationals, alongside some common criminals. While

24:25formally under the control of the National Prisons Office, various wards within Evin are effectively

24:31managed by different state bodies, including the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary

24:37Guard Corps. Separated into sections, one of the most dreaded is Section 209. Controlled by the

24:44Ministry of Intelligence, it is known for its prolonged solitary confinement cells, intense interrogations

24:51and the use of psychological and physical torture to extract forced confessions. Section 2A is controlled

24:59by the Intelligence Unit of the IRGC and also utilises solitary confinement and harsh interrogation tactics,

25:07with Section 350 being a general ward for political prisoners but severely overcrowded. The prison also has a

25:16woman's ward housing female political prisoners and activists that faces severe challenges including

25:23chronic lack of medical care, unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. Accounts from former detainees, detailed beatings,

25:31electric shocks, mock executions, prolonged solitary confinement, sensory deprivation, threats against

25:40family members and relentless interrogation. Many prisoners are held without charge for extended periods

25:47or on vague national security charges and detainees are often denied access to lawyers, particularly during the

25:56critical interrogation phase. Trials in Revolutionary Courts are systematically unfair, lacking transparency

26:04and often relying solely on forced confessions, while judges frequently disregard evidence presented by the

26:12defence. Reports detail infestations of bedbugs and other pests, inadequate and unhygienic toilet and shower

26:21facilities and a general lack of cleanliness with inmates, often reportedly suffering from malnutrition,

26:29due to the substandard quality and insufficient quantity of prison food. Evan is particularly known for

26:36holding dual nationals and foreign citizens, often accused of espionage or other national security offences.

26:45These individuals are frequently used as leverage in international negotiations, a practice widely

26:52condemned as hostage diplomacy. Notable incidents within Evan include the death of Iranian-Canadian

27:00photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died of blunt trauma to the head while imprisoned in Evan. In 2021,

27:08a hacktivist group named Ali's Justice leaked CCTV footage from inside Evan, revealing shocking scenes

27:16of overcrowding, inhumane conditions and prison guards assaulting prisoners. In October 2022, amidst

27:24nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a major fire erupted at Evan prison and rioting

27:32claimed the lives of eight prisoners with authorities using live ammunition and tear gas to

27:38quell the riot. Evan prison is by far the most feared in the country and remains a symbol of repression

27:45where fundamental human rights are systematically denied and where political dissent is brutally

27:53suppressed.

27:56Thanks for watching. We have a special video coming later this week on specific inmates inside Iran's

28:00most feared prisons. Meanwhile, check out some of our other videos on the screen and subscribe for more

28:06true crime videos publishing every Saturday.

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