Iranian Prisons Ignore Declining Health of Jailed Activists

Iran's prison organization has neglected the healthcare of at least three imprisoned labor activists and has stopped them from receiving treatment, a union said. 

The Free Workers' Union announced the arrest of a labor activist and a former Iran Khodro automaker company employee on October 24. 

The union reported that Reza Aghdasi was arrested and sent to prison after being summoned to the third branch of the Evin Prison prosecutor's office in Tehran. 

According to the union report, Aghdasi is deaf, has other physical disabilities and was receiving medical treatment.

The activist had previously been summoned and arrested by security forces, along with his wife, during the peak of last year's nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. 

The HRANA human rights website also reported on the physical difficulties and medical needs of imprisoned labor activist Maziar Seyyednejad. 

It noted that he suffers from heart disease as he serves his sentence in prison.

The report, quoting an informed source, mentioned that this labor activist "requires specialized treatment" but is still in prison, with the prison organization showing no interest in releasing him on bail or granting him medical leave.

Seyyednejad was arrested by security forces at his home in Tehran in June 2021 and was released on bail from Evin Prison in August 2021. 

In January 2021, he was sentenced to two years in prison on suspicion of "membership in communist groups" and one year in prison on the charge of "propaganda activities against the system" in Branch 15 of the Tehran Islamic Revolution Court.

IranWire has reported on the poor physical condition of another labor activist, Younes Azadbar, in prison. Sources close to him said that he was denied access to a hospital for continued treatment.

Azadbar has been incarcerated in Lakan Prison in Rasht for more than three months, with his relatives stating that he suffers from epilepsy and digestive problems. Despite these issues, prison authorities have so far refused to grant him medical leave.  

Azadbar was arrested in July this year by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence agents at his home in Sangar city in Gilan province.

In the trial, held in September, he was accused of "waging war against God" which carries the death penalty, "propaganda activities against the system" and "membership in anti-system groups." Azadbar rejected the accusations.

The deliberate neglect of prisoners’ medical needs in Iran is one of the ways that security forces exert pressure on prisoners and their families. 

This process has intensified in recent months, especially during nationwide protests in various Iranian prisons. 

Human rights sources report that a large number of prisoners, especially political prisoners, have been denied proper medical treatment.