IRAN
REPORT BY THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN (CFPPI)
The Horrors of Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan
Inside the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s Underground Detention Centre: Secret Detention, Torture and Forced Confessions
Date: 9 November 2026
Subject: Secret Detention, Torture and Coerced Confessions at the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s Dowlatabad Detention Facility in Isfahan
1. Introduction and Background
According to information received by the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI), the Dowlatabad facility in Isfahan, officially presented as a Centre for the Rehabilitation and Correction of Children and Adolescents, is reportedly being used as a secret detention facility by the Intelligence Organisation ( Sazman-e Etellat) of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the city of Isfahan.
According to accounts provided to CFPPI, the facility is used for interrogation, torture, and the extraction of forced confessions.
Information received by the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) indicates that the Dowlatabad complex is located in the northern part of Isfahan, in the vicinity of Olympic Township (Shahrak-e Olympic). The reported location is along the route extending from Taxi Terminal Square towards Olympic Township and Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium. According to the information received by the CFPPI, the complex is reportedly under the control of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The complex reportedly consists of four tall, multi-storey buildings. However, according to accounts received by the CFPPI, parts of these structures extend underground and are interconnected through underground passageways. It is further alleged that an IRGC Intelligence detention facility is located beneath the complex, with entrances and exits concealed from public view.
The complex is reportedly surrounded by two successive, exceptionally high perimeter walls, constructed at a considerable distance from one another. These security barriers make escape from the premises extremely difficult.
According to the accounts received, IRGC personnel, interrogators and other staff access and leave the facility through underground routes and entrances that are not identifiable to members of the public.
The presence of administrative and service facilities in the surrounding area reportedly makes the movements of security personnel difficult to distinguish. According to these accounts, the area effectively serves a security and military function.
2. Threats, Torture and Coercion to Obtain False Confessions
According to information received by CFPPI, detainees held at this facility are reportedly subjected to severe forms of physical and psychological torture, as well as other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The reported purpose of these practices is to break detainees’ resistance, intimidate them into submission and compel them to make false confessions.
Former detainees have reportedly stated that interrogators greet newly detained individuals with threats and intimidation, telling them:
“You came here on your own feet, but you will not leave on your own feet.”
According to these accounts, such threats are used from the outset of detention to instil fear, exert psychological pressure and establish an atmosphere of intimidation and coercion.
3. Reported Torture Methods: “Barzakh” and “Dozakh”
Among the most deeply disturbing accounts received by CFPPI are eyewitness testimonies describing two methods of torture referred to as “Barzakh” (Purgatory) and “Dozakh” (Hell). The descriptions of these practices raise grave concerns about the severity and deliberate nature of the physical and psychological suffering inflicted on detainees.
According to eyewitness accounts received by the CFPPI, one of these methods involves placing a detainee inside an extremely narrow, cage-like enclosure, with their arms and legs protruding outside. The enclosure is then reportedly progressively contracted and compressed, forcing the detainee’s body into an unnatural, severely restricted and intensely painful position.
According to these accounts, individuals may be held in this position for hours or even days. During this period, they reportedly endure extreme physical pain, restricted movement, fear and sustained psychological distress. The duration of the torture is determined entirely at the discretion of the interrogator, leaving detainees with no control over how long they will be subjected to this torture.
The potential physical consequences are particularly alarming. Accounts received by the CFPPI indicate that this form of torture may cause serious and potentially irreversible damage to internal organs, the spinal column and the spinal cord. Some injuries may reportedly remain undetected or become apparent only months after the abuse.
The report indicates possible long-term health complications, including kidney, liver and gastrointestinal disorders, alongside lasting psychological trauma. Such consequences may severely compromise survivors’ physical and mental health and have a permanent impact on their ability to lead normal lives.
4. Transfer of Detainees to Dastgerd Prison Following Interrogation
According to information received by the CFPPI, a number of individuals arrested by IRGC Intelligence in Isfahan are initially transferred to the Dowlatabad facility.
Following interrogation and what the accounts describe as an “information extraction” process, these individuals are reportedly transferred to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.
CFPPI has also received reports indicating that a considerable number of forced confessions subsequently broadcast by state-controlled media were obtained at this detention facility under conditions involving torture, threats and coercion.
In this connection, the names of several defendants in the case commonly referred to as the “Ali Khani Square case” have also appeared in accounts concerning the facility. According to the information received, the Dowlatabad facility was reportedly among the locations where some detainees in this case were subjected to interrogation and forced to make confessions.
5. Reference to a Medical Doctor in Accounts Concerning the Facility
Among the individuals whose names have emerged in connection with these accounts is Dr. Zeynab Soleimani, who was reportedly arrested by the IRGC in April 2026 for assisting injured protesters during the January 2026 demonstrations. According to information received by CFPPI, Dr. Soleimani was reportedly admitted to Farabi Hospital. However, the information currently available regarding her condition remains incomplete. Her medical condition and the circumstances surrounding her reported hospitalisation require independent verification, including a review of relevant medical documentation and confirmation of the precise facts.
6. Psychological Consequences of Torture
The consequences of torture reportedly extend well beyond the period of detention.
According to accounts provided by individuals released from the facility, some former detainees have experienced severe psychological and emotional trauma following their release.
Some have reportedly developed speech impediments, including stuttering, while others have experienced significant difficulties communicating and interacting normally with family members and other people.
These accounts suggest that the psychological consequences of detention and torture may persist long after release, seriously affecting survivors’ ability to resume their normal lives and maintain family and social relationships.
7. Requests to United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms and International Organisations
CFPPI expresses its deep concern regarding the torture, secret detention and forced confessions at the Dowlatabad facility in Isfahan in Iran.
CFPPI calls upon relevant United Nations human rights bodies, international organisations and independent human rights mechanisms to give urgent attention to this matter.
Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
For Media Inquiries:
Shiva Mahbobi, Spokeswoman
📧 shiva.mahbobi@gmail.com 📞 +44 7572 356666