Artists and Activists Face Dire Health Issues Following Imprisonment in Iran

Maryam Kianersi, the lawyer representing Sasan Chamanara, a protest artist arrested during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, has revealed that her client is battling an autoimmune condition known as Psoriasis.

Chamanara endured severe torture, including electric shocks and mock executions, during his temporary detention in the IRGC Intelligence facilities.

Kianersi's disclosure about Chamanara, a traditional music artist and Kurdish native of Ilam, has reignited public concern over the health repercussions faced by government critics and protesters upon release from incarceration.

This isn't the first instance of an artist or activist developing autoimmune ailments post-detainment.

Earlier, Kianersi had highlighted another client, Mustafa Al-Ahmad, a film director, who suffered from an autoimmune disorder.

Al-Ahmad, like several other activists, experienced prolonged autoimmune issues after release from prison.

Al-Ahmad was apprehended in July 2021 following the collapse of the Metropol building and the ensuing casualties in Abadan.

He, along with Mohammad Rasoulf, faced charges of "counter-revolutionary activities" and "incitement causing societal unrest." He was granted temporary release on bail approximately a month later.

Recently, Taraneh Alidoosti, a renowned actress, garnered attention when her lawyer disclosed her battle with an "unknown" illness, attributed by doctors to a drug interaction.

Zahra Minoei, Alidoosti's legal representative, said that Alidoosti was diagnosed with "DRESS" syndrome in August 2023, with doctors attributing the cause to drug interactions.

Alidoosti faced detention due to her support of nationwide protests in 2022 and was banned by the Ministry of Culture for defying mandatory hijab regulations.

Another notable case involving autoimmune illness during imprisonment is that of Athena Daemi, a civil rights activist who spent nearly seven years in various prisons of the Islamic Republic.

Due to the deterioration of her multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, Daemi was compelled to emigrate.

Now, Motaeareh Gonei, a student activist and former political prisoner, has revealed on the X platform that she, too, is grappling with a recurring autoimmune ailment, echoing concerns raised by Sasan Chamanara's condition.

The Tehran University of Medical Sciences student, detained in 2021, witnessed a worsening of his autoimmune condition following repeated summons, interrogations, and subsequent arrests, eventually diagnosed with "mild MS."

After the announcement of Mr Chamanara's illness, many wrote on social networks about the impact of stress on the occurrence and exacerbation of autoimmune diseases.

Earlier, information was received by IranWire that indicated severe physical and mental torture of Chamanara in the custody of IRGC intelligence.

The IRGC Intelligence Organization, the agency that arrested him, will first transfer this young musician to a "safe house."

According to an informed source, at the same time, Chamanara was severely beaten "with a stun gun and a baton" in that safe house, and the security agents tortured him by using a "rope and execution scene and ice water bags."

Chamanara, who has a disability in one eye and severe low vision in the other, has been repeatedly tortured by targeting his disabled eye.

 During that period of detention, he was detained for 109 days and finally, the 29th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Ali Mazloum, sentenced him to five years in prison—a verdict that was later confirmed in the appeals court.

The disease that Sasan Chamanara is said to be dealing with is psoriasis, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system perceives skin cells as enemies and attacks them.

The most obvious symptom of this disease is the occurrence of skin ulcers, which are often very painful and difficult to treat.

Ruzbeh Esfandiari, a doctor and IranWire medical consultant, says that the flare-up and onset of this autoimmune disease are closely related to physical and psychological traumas.

"Psoriasis is a disease that has ups and downs. It means that for a while, the patient will have a flare-up of his disease, and after a while, he may not have any symptoms," Esfandiari explained.

"This disease affects the skin and if it is very severe, it also affects the nails, but it usually does not involve the internal organs," he added.