As Iranian security forces escalate their crackdown, former political prisoners caution that the violence witnessed on the streets is merely a glimpse of the brutality occurring within the nation’s prisons.

Speaking to Digital, three ex-detainees detailed a system intended not only to punish opposition but to crush it through methods like solitary confinement, physical assaults, inadequate medical care, and death threats. Their testimonies cover almost two decades, from the 2009 protests to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and the ongoing unrest, highlighting what they perceive as a persistent and worsening trend of mistreatment.

Maryam Shariatmadari, a prominent figure in the “Girls of Revolution Street” demonstrations against Iran’s compulsory hijab laws, received a one-year prison sentence in March 2018 for what officials termed “encouraging corruption by removing her hijab.”

This week, Shariatmadari stated that the magnitude of the current protests has overwhelmed the regime’s capacity to hold demonstrators.

“Eyewitness accounts suggest that the Islamic Republic’s repressive forces are administering ‘final shots’ to injured protesters, killing them instantly,” she reported. “This practice is unprecedented in the last 47 years and indicates that the sheer volume of detainees has exceeded the Islamic Republic’s holding capacity, leading them to kill individuals without any trial.”

She noted that while those arrested in previous uprisings were sent to prisons or unofficial “safe houses,” during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, authorities expanded detention sites to include schools, ambulances, and food transport vehicles.

“The use of ambulances and food transport vehicles to detain protesters is, in my opinion, unprecedented in human history,” Shariatmadari commented.

Within detention facilities, she detailed systematic abuse.

“This involved beatings, transfers to prisons without segregating inmates by offense, and intentionally encouraging other prisoners to harass and abuse us,” she explained.

A particularly traumatic experience for her happened during an interrogation.

“I was instructed to undress and remain completely naked for a body search, with cameras present,” Shariatmadari recounted. “I was aware that men were observing me, and I could hear their voices.”

She also remembered being refused urgent medical attention following an injury.

“It was only after about 24 hours that I was transported to a hospital for surgery,” she stated. “I believe this occurred due to media pressure and public backing.”

Maryam Shariatmadari’s husband, Mehdi Ghadimi, a freelance journalist who contributed to reformist newspapers Etemad and Shargh, was apprehended in January 2023 amidst protests and taken to an unknown location. He spent almost his entire period of detention in solitary confinement.

“I underwent interrogation twice daily, in the morning and afternoon, for eight hours, while blindfolded,” Ghadimi reported.

Towards the end of his detention, he was moved to a communal cell, where he met prisoners from various segments of Iranian society.

“I encountered students, laborers, technical experts, and others who had been arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement,” he recounted.

Ghadimi noted that detainees accused of supporting the Pahlavi dynasty received harsher beatings.

“Their slogans and symbols were in favor of the Pahlavi dynasty, which resulted in them being beaten far more severely than the other prisoners,” he explained.

Drawing from his experience, he cautioned that those currently detained are likely to endure even more brutal treatment.

“I can only assume that all detainees this time will face similarly brutal treatment,” Ghadimi stated, noting that Iran’s judiciary chief has publicly indicated a hardline stance.

Ghadimi, who escaped Iran in 2024, also referred to figures circulating among activists suggesting the number of detainees is significantly higher than the 2,600 reported, potentially dwarfing that figure. He estimated the number of detainees is likely much greater than the 10,000 reported.

Shabnam Madadzadeh, incarcerated during the 2009 uprising, stated that observing the current protests has rekindled memories of extreme brutality and heightened concerns about mass executions.

“What immediately comes to my mind is the regime’s proficiency in torture and killing,” Madadzadeh remarked.

She mentioned that detention facilities were already at maximum capacity during the 2009 protests.

“There was no remaining space for detainees. Even the solitary confinement cells were packed with individuals,” she stated.

Madadzadeh remembered interrogators accusing almost every arrested person of connections to the Mujahedin-e Khalq and detailed torture and beatings “to the point of death.”

A threat she received during interrogation continues to haunt her.

“He told me: ‘If we are to be overthrown, we will kill all of you. We will leave no one alive,’” she quoted.

She cautioned that the current circumstances have intensified the danger for detainees.

“We genuinely do not know the extent of brutality currently occurring within the prisons,” Madadzadeh remarked, noting that intelligence she has received indicates the regime aims to expedite executions.

Referencing Iran’s history, she warned of the potential for mass killings akin to the 1988 executions of political prisoners.

“Today, with the regime seemingly on the verge of collapse, there is a genuine risk that such a massacre could recur,” she stated.

Madadzadeh indicated that young detainees are probably enduring forced confessions, simulated executions, and threats of sexual violence.

“Whatever I do to you, no one will hear your voice,” an interrogator once told her, she remembered.

She also highlighted the anguish of families desperately searching for their loved ones.

“Families are shuttling between detention centers, prisons, morgues, and cemeteries,” she described. “This very uncertainty constitutes the most profound form of torture.”

As the protests persist, all three former prisoners urged the international community not to ignore the situation.

“The primary thing I expect the free world to grasp is the authentic voice of the Iranian people,” Shariatmadari asserted. “The people of Iran are unified in their call for regime change and aspire to restore Iran to its former dignity, where human rights and human worth were honored.”

Ghadimi reiterated that warning.

“Undoubtedly, when the regime exhibits such overt violence in public, even greater atrocities unfold within prison walls,” he stated. “I can only assume that all detainees this time will face similarly brutal treatment.”

For Madadzadeh, the peril is immediate.

“The world must react decisively to this brutality,” she urged. “Every minute of hesitation costs lives.”

She appealed for tangible international action.

“Compel the regime to permit independent inspections of prisons and the clandestine detention centers operated by the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence,” Madadzadeh demanded. “Lives are at stake.”

Collectively, their testimonies portray a grim reality of Iran’s prisons as the concealed front line of repression, serving as a warning that the unseen horrors might be even more lethal than those already evident in public.