Penal System or System of Belief? / Sina Yousefi

Repentance (tawba) has long been regarded in Islamic jurisprudence as a moral and devotional concept, and over time, it has also gained a significant role in criminal proceedings. Islamic jurisprudence, by linking the realm of religious ethics with the domain of punishment, has created an institution in which inner transformation can lead to the annulment […]...

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Attack on Prisons During Wartime: Solution or Tragedy?/ Majid Shia Ali

There is precedent in modern military history for air assaults on prisons. In some cases, such incidents result from operational errors or misfires during broader military campaigns. One of the most tragic examples occurred in May 1999, when NATO launched strikes in response to the Serbian army’s ethnic repression of Kosovar Albanians. Among the multiple […]...

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In Praise of Peace: A Journalist’s Account from a Bombarded Tehran/ Hossein Yazdi

War—this word has become entangled with our lives in the Middle East, as though the region has no other identity without it. At the time of my birth, the 1979 Revolution had just happened, and by the time I entered elementary school, I was fully experiencing war—red sirens and teachers who would take us under […]...

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Message from Women Prisoners: Issuing the death sentence, revenge of the government from women/ Nasim Mogharab

During the short period since the issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi and Parichehr Azizi, multiple statements have been released in protest against the issuance of these sentences and the danger of similar sentences being issued for Vida Movahedi and Nasim Gholami Simiari. Paying attention to the letters and analyses published by imprisoned […]...

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Can repentance turn into a torturer?/ Monireh Baradaran

The question is: Can repentance turn into a torturer? But perhaps it is more appropriate to change the question to the complicity of “repentance” with the “torturer”: Can repentance become an accomplice to the torturer? The “real torturer” gains absolute obedience from the victim by turning them into their prey, but they are never willing […]...

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Atonement or Nurturing the Executioner?/ Behram Rahmani

It is not easy to answer questions such as “Can repentance turn into a torturer?” because repentance, before anything else, is a result of torture and psychological and emotional pressures on the body and soul of the captive. Human resistance to threats, torture, and punishment also varies; some people are resistant to the violence of […]...

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Sanitary pad in prison: Pressure and shame/ Athena Daeemi

Monthly period, or menstruation, is an inseparable part of our lives as women. For various reasons, our monthly bleeding may be heavy or light, it may last longer and in some cases, up to 10 days, or women may experience bleeding twice a month in times of stress, mental pressure, or even seasonal changes. As […]...

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After freedom, the prison becomes a purifying light.

Last year, it was these very days that the news of Sepideh Farahan’s suicide, a former political prisoner, made headlines. A suspicious and shocking death that, according to her friends, was a voluntary suicide. Sepideh had said in her interviews that during her time in Evin Prison, the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence, […]...

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Home entertainment series, a way to forget / Ali Hosseini

1. In the movie Once Upon a Time in America, David Aaronson (Robert De Niro) returns to his old neighborhood after years and gives a short and thought-provoking answer to the question “What have you been doing all these years?” He says, “I used to go to bed early at night!” Nighttime sleep is a […]...

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The relocation of Rajai Shahr prison is a strategy against threatening gatherings; an interview with Nasser Ghavami, former judge of the Supreme Court/ Morteza Hamounian.

The order of the head of the judiciary to release Rajai Shahr prison, which some media outlets have interpreted as an impulsive decision by the head of the judiciary, has raised many concerns. The relocation of Rajai Shahr prison could affect the situation of prisoners, the access of families to the prison, and the remaining […]...

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Prison in Iran; A Vengeful Approach / Musa Barzin

On the date of April 10th of this year, the head of the judiciary announced that it is planned for Rajai Shahr prison, located in the city of Karaj, to be closed and relocated to another location. They cited the reason for this decision as the prison being located within the city of Karaj. However, […]...

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Islamic Republic and the High Walls of Prison Relocation / Marzieh Mohabi

We must think that prisons and punishments, in general, are not intended to eliminate crimes; they are mostly intended to differentiate crimes and to distribute and use them. Prisons and punishments do not only aim to discipline violators of the law, but they also aim to control violations of the law through a general tactic, […]...

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