Polluted water in Gohardasht Prison violate minimum rights of prisoners

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran

On Wednesday April 7, the drinking water of prisoners at Gohardasht Prison in Karaj was cut off for a few hours and after being connected again, it was severely polluted, had a very foul smell and resembled sewage water. Defenseless prisoners are forced to use this water (out of desperation). According to reports, a number of prisoners have come down with digestive problems after using the polluted water and have side effects like diarrhea, nausea, headaches and weakness.
The prisoners' water supply in this prison comes from water wells and prisoners are deprived of using purified water from the municipal systems of the city. In the past few weeks, the prison sewage has seeped into the water wells and this condition has continued for a few weeks. Because of the water shortage and cold water, prisoners have also been deprived of bathing and this has led to skin diseases among them.
Simultaneous with the water pollution and the water shortage, mineral water and other drinks in the prison shop have been gathered from the shop and prisoners have no way of providing their needs.
The sanitary condition of cellblocks in this prison is very bad. Currently a number of the bathrooms are out of order and more than 600 people have to use 3 to 4 bathrooms.