Alive in Coffins: Iran Hiding Prisoners in Black Boxes without any Due Process
As U.S.–Iran negotiations resume in Geneva, the Iranian regime is projecting calm abroad while intensifying repression at home — including the operation of secret “black box” detention sites holding thousands of disappeared Iranians, according to a recent investigative report. This convergence of diplomacy, military pressure, and hidden domestic terror underscores why the Islamic Republic is weaker — and more dangerous — than it appears.
NCRI Speakers Available:
Mrs. Shirin Nariman: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
Zahra Amanpour: Lost Father, Fled Iran under great Danger
Homeira Hesami: Former Political Prisoner in Iran
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad: Iranian American
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian: Iranian American
Alireza Jafarzadeh: Deputy Director of NCRI
Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, U.S Army (Ret.)
- Secret “black box” prisons are disappearing thousands of Iranians outside any legal system.
- Protests are quiet, not defeated — repression has forced unrest underground ahead of another surge.
- U.S. naval forces near Iran highlight rising pressure as the regime postures to hide weakness.
- Iranian diaspora mobilization is accelerating, with mass rallies demanding regime change.
- Iranians want political support, not foreign intervention — no boots on the ground, just pressure and accountability.
While Western diplomats debate nuclear limits, the regime has quietly expanded a network of unregistered detention facilities operating outside Iran’s official prison system. Detainees are held without charges, denied contact with families or lawyers, and in many cases erased from all judicial records. Human rights investigators describe conditions involving extreme isolation, torture, and psychological abuse — tactics reminiscent of Iran’s darkest periods of political repression. Families often do not know if their loved ones are alive.
At the same time, public unrest inside Iran has temporarily subsided — not because grievances have eased, but because repression has intensified. Executions, mass arrests, surveillance, and secret detention have forced protests underground. Iranian activists and analysts warn this is a familiar pattern: suppression followed by a sharper, more explosive uprising once fear gives way to desperation.
International pressure is also rising. The United States has positioned significant naval assets near Iran, signaling deterrence amid regional instability. Iran has responded with military drills and threats, exposing a regime trying to project strength while facing economic collapse, internal dissent, and global isolation.
Outside Iran, momentum is building. A massive rally in Germany recently drew thousands of Iranians and supporters demanding an end to clerical rule. The Iranian diaspora is increasingly unified, organized, and vocal — pressing Western governments to stop treating the regime as a legitimate negotiating partner while it runs secret prisons at home.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) is uniquely positioned at this moment. The organization has direct access to former political prisoners who survived Iran’s detention system — including those held in unofficial facilities — and can provide firsthand testimony, documentation, and context on how repression operates behind closed doors. These voices directly contradict Tehran’s claims of reform and moderation.
With Geneva talks underway, military tensions escalating, and Iran’s internal pressure building once again, the question facing policymakers is no longer whether the regime can be reformed — but how long the international community will ignore the evidence that it is sustained by fear, disappearance, and violence.
Relevant Article(s):
Tens of thousands held in Iran ‘black box’ detention sites report finds | Fox News
Iran’s top diplomat meets UN nuclear watchdog ahead of US talks | AP News
The Munich Spectacle: Foreign Hammers Won’t Forge Iran’s Democracy – NCRI
Iran News in Brief – February 17, 2026 – NCRI
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- How can the U.S. negotiate in Geneva while Iran is running secret “black box” prisons holding thousands off the books?
- What do these hidden detention sites tell us about the regime’s real stability and fear of its own people?
- Why has unrest inside Iran gone quiet — and what signals suggest another uprising is approaching?
- How does increased U.S. naval positioning factor into Tehran’s internal and external pressure points?
- What does the scale of recent Iranian diaspora rallies reveal about global momentum for change?
- Why do Iranians reject foreign military intervention but actively seek political and diplomatic support?
- How can survivor testimony from former political prisoners change Western policy calculations?
- What happens if the world continues treating the regime as legitimate while repression intensifies?
ABOUT ZAHRA AMANPOUR…
Zahra Amanpour is a lifelong human rights advocate and a proud supporter of the Iranian Resistance movement. Born during the 1979 Iranian Revolution in Tehran, Zahra’s life has been defined by the struggle for freedom and justice. Her father, a prominent advocate with the MEK/PMOI, was killed in 1988—a summer marked by the mass killing of 30,000 political prisoners following the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
Raised by her mother within the Iranian Resistance community, Zahra grew up surrounded by the courage, clarity, and conviction of those who refused to be silenced. She draws deep inspiration from the many women who have led the movement for a free, secular, and democratic Iran.
As a Board Member of the Women’s Freedom Forum, Zahra works to amplify the voices of women fighting for their rights under repressive regimes and to shine a global light on their stories of resistance. Her work bridges continents, connecting the struggle for human rights in Iran with economic empowerment initiatives in the United States.
ABOUT HOMEIRA HESAMI…
Homeira Hesami was born in 1966 in Iran. At age 16, she graduated from high school with honors but was denied acceptance to Iranian universities due to her political beliefs and activism. Her activism forced her to spend a significant period of time in prison in Iran as a teenager.
She was eventually able to immigrate to the United States, where she pursued her education further, obtaining both her Master’s from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
Hesami has remained active in the political scene to help establish a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran. Homeira was a member of the Iranian American Women’s Delegation that attended the World Conferences on Women in Beijing in 1995. She has spoken at the University of Virginia to educate students about the current plight of women in Iran.
Hesami has also spoken at The National Convention of Iranian Americans in Washington, D.C., as well as the Texas Convention of Iranian Leaders in Houston, TX. She is married with two children, and working as a medical physicist in Irving, Texas.
ABOUT DR. RAMESH SEPEHRRAD…
Born in Shiraz, Iran, Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad is a leading Iranian American scholar, published author, cybersecurity executive, and human rights advocate, known for her tireless efforts to advance a non-nuclear, secular, and democratic republic in Iran. Her commitment to justice in Iran is deeply personal. As Chair of the Advisory Board of the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), she plays a pivotal role in bipartisan majority of congressional advocacy, including support for various house resolutions, which endorses the Iranian people’s aspirations for freedom and Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan.
ABOUT DR. KAZEM KAZEROUNIAN…
Dr. Kazem Kazerounian is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 2012 to 2024.
A passionate advocate for democracy and human rights, Dr. Kazerounian is also an expert on Iran and the Middle East, particularly regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, and human rights situation in Iran. He has contributed widely through scholarly articles, invited talks, and media interviews on regional affairs and the democratic movement in Iran.
Nationally, he has held leadership roles with ASEE and ASME, shaping engineering policy and education. His honors include the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award, AIMBE Fellowship, and induction into the Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering.
An ASME Fellow, his research spans kinematics, robotics, and biomechanics. He has authored over 160 scholarly works and co-founded AcademicKeys.com and AcademicJournal.com, a professional platform and an online journal for academics.
Shirin Nariman is a former political prisoner from Iran, human rights advocate, and entrepreneur.
At just 15 years old, during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she became involved in pro-democracy activities and supported the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). Less than two years later, she was arrested for her activism—becoming one of the youngest political prisoners of her time and enduring severe torture in Evin Prison. Her case drew international attention and intervention from the Red Cross.
During her imprisonment, Shirin witnessed the regime’s brutality firsthand, including the executions of children, elderly women, and pregnant prisoners. After her release, she eventually sought refuge in the United States, where she has dedicated her life to advocating for human rights, women’s rights, and a free, democratic, non-nuclear Iran.
Shirin holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and has worked with leading wireless and financial corporations.
ABOUT ALIREZA JAFARZADEH…
Alireza Jafarzadeh serves as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He is also the author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2008).
A recognized expert on Iranian policy, Jafarzadeh has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. His groundbreaking work in 2002 and 2003 led to the discovery of key illicit nuclear sites in Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Arak heavy water plant, the Kalaye Electric centrifuge testing facility near Tehran, and the Lashkar Ab’ad laser enrichment facility. These revelations prompted the first-ever inspections of Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Jafarzadeh is a frequent guest on major television and radio networks, including CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and France 24. His insights have also been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and The Hill.
ABOUT LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS (Ret)…
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Command & General Staff College, the Defense Language School and the Army War College’s strategy course. He is an Airborne-Ranger infantry officer with service in four infantry divisions on three continents.
In 1993 he served with the Pentagon group that wrote the now abandoned policy on homosexuals in the military known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Once retired from the Army he joined the Washington DC-based Family Research Council, where he rose to be the vice president for policy before returning to the Pentagon in 2002. However, Colonel Maginnis remains FRC’s senior fellow for national security.
Until late 2020 Colonel Maginnis served as the vice president for his contracting firm with duties at the Pentagon supervising a team of national security experts and is a security cooperation expert for the Headquarters, Department of the Army as well as instructing a course at the Army War College.
Since late 2020 he began to serve as a contractor supporting security assistance issues for the Army’s Secretariat.
Colonel Maginnis has decades of media experience as a columnist, a Fox News military analyst and as an on-air commentator for multiple radio programs and networks to include Salem Radio Network.
He is the author of nearly a thousand articles and eleven published books and contributed chapters in numerous other books, the latest was released in June 2024, out of this World. Maginnis is the author of several books, most recently AI for Mankind’s Future.
TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW, CALL OR TEXT 512-966-0983 OR EMAIL BOOKINGS@SPECIALGUESTS.COM
CONTACT:
Jerry McGlothlin
Special Guests Publicity
919-437-0001
This material is distributed by Special Guests Publicity LLC on behalf of National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) / Media Strategy Consulting LTD. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box, Black Box
