A/HRC/43/61 was allowed to go to the bathroom only twice in any 24-hour period. She would have to press a button when she needed to use the bathroom and someone would come to take her, but sometimes that person would come two or three hours after she had pressed the button. As a result, she tended not to drink. This had an impact on her kidneys and digestive system that has lasted even after her release from prison. In fact, she has never recovered, despite being treated. 57. Another former detainee who was an activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and for gender equality and who had spent 19 days in solitary confinement in ward 209 at Evin Prison informed the Special Rapporteur that she was kept in a cell measuring 2m by 3m and could not talk to her family or the outside world for the first 15 days of her detention. She was not allowed to have any books. In the bathroom, only hot water was available, and in her cell the lights were on 24 hours a day. She developed an anxiety disorder that caused panic attacks, as a result of which she was taken to the prison clinic, where she was given medication. Another person who was in solitary confinement in ward 209 reports having been kept in such confinement for 83 days. For three weeks he had access only to the bathroom. He could ring a bell to ask for assistance and, when taken to the bathroom, he was blindfolded. During that period, he could not receive visits. His parents came every week but were sent back every time. Another detainee who was held in solitary confinement in Zahedan Prison was not allowed to talk to his family for 30 days. 6. Visits, monitoring of communications and denial of furlough 58. Another violation of the Prison Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and international law is the arbitrary manner in which authorizations for visits and telephone communications with families are denied or delayed. For example, the prison authorities often deny detained women the possibility of meeting with their children as a means of punishment. The Special Rapporteur has been informed that the authorities in Evin Prison have introduced new restrictions on family visitations since the appointment of the new head of the prison. Previously, children were allowed to visit their mothers on Wednesdays but now they can only do so on Sundays, which is the only day when all family members can visit detainees. The visits take place in a large communal hall, without any separation between families for privacy. 59. The Special Rapporteur has received reports of prison guards monitoring conversations by telephone from behind a glass. Article 221 of the Prison Regulations exempts furlough for those convicted of acting against national security. Given that a majority of political prisoners are convicted of alleged national security offences, they are denied furlough. B. 1. General conditions in prisons and detention centres Overcrowding and hygiene 60. The Special Rapporteur has consistently received information of overcrowding in Iranian prisons. According to the director of judicial affairs in the State Prisons Organization, Hossein Pourmand, the prison population is 189,500, which is 27.7 per cent higher than its official capacity. These figures were published after 61,000 prisoners were freed in a general pardon on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in February 2019 and prior to the most recent wave of arrests resulting from the November 2019 protests.102 The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has made reference to the established position of international and regional human rights mechanisms according to which overcrowding leads to situations in which detainees are required to live for long periods in deplorable conditions, unsuitable for human dignity and existence and can breach the absolute prohibition of torture. 103 Overcrowding is a source of infections and ill-health and has also been linked to the spread of infectious and 102 103 16 www.mashreghnews.ir/news/955211/. A/HRC/36/28, para. 31.