TEHRAN, Dec 8 — Iran’s prison service today denied women are sexually assaulted inside its jails and threatened to file charges against those making such allegations.
The service said “no report has been registered on rape cases in women’s prisons”, in a statement published by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.
“The organisation reserves the right to file a complaint with the courts against all those who spread false news,” it added.
The statement follows recent international media reports alleging widespread sexual assaults of women and men arrested during protests sparked by the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman.
Women’s prisons are “designed in such a way” that only female staff have access to detainees, the statement said.
“One of the most important criteria in the country’s prisons is the separation of female prisoners from the men’s section,” it added.
The prison service, which is operated by Iran’s judiciary, also said its detention facilities are regularly inspected and female prisoners are supervised “24 hours a day”.
Protests were triggered by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who had been arrested by the morality police in Tehran over an alleged violation of Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Thousands of Iranians and about 40 foreigners have been arrested and more than 2,000 people have so far been charged. — AFP
