AI: Iran regime's denial of medical care to political prisoners is cruel and utterly indefensible

Iran is putting political prisoners lives at risk by denying them medical care

Amnesty International: Iran’s authorities are callously toying with the lives of prisoners of conscience and other political prisoners by denying them adequate medical care, putting them at grave risk of death, permanent disability or other irreversible damage to their health, according to a new report by Amnesty International published today.
The report, Health taken hostage: Cruel denial of medical care in Iran’s prisons, provides a grim snapshot of health care in the country’s prisons. It presents strong evidence that the judiciary, in particular the Office of the Prosecutor, and prison administrations deliberately prevent access to adequate medical care, in many cases as an intentional act of cruelty intended to intimidate, punish or humiliate political prisoners, or to extract forced “confessions” or statements of “repentance” from them.
 “In Iran a prisoner’s health is routinely taken hostage by the authorities, who recklessly ignore the medical needs of those in custody. Denying medical care to political prisoners is cruel and utterly indefensible,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Prisoners’ access to health care is a right enshrined in both international and Iranian law. When depriving a prisoner of medical care causes severe pain or suffering and it is intentionally done for purposes such as punishment, intimidation or to extract a forced ‘confession’, it constitutes torture.”
The report details 18 appalling cases of prisoners who have been denied medical care in some form and are at risk of suffering permanent damage to their health.
 Prisoners subjected to a shocking range of abuses
The report provides a deeply disturbing image of the Office of the Prosecutor, which in Iran is responsible for decisions concerning medical leave and hospital transfers. The Office of the Prosecutor often refuses to authorize hospital transfers for sick prisoners even though the care they need is not available in prison, and denies requests for medical leave for critically ill prisoners against doctors’ advice.

A call to stop the savage executions in Iran

   Executions in Iran under Hassan Rouhani

Sister of death row prisoner: Khamenei will be responsible if anything happens to him

The sister of Mohammed Ali Taheri, the prisoner of conscience on death row and currently on a hunger strike, said Iran’s leaders will be responsible for his fate.
“Mohammed is in his 58th day of hunger strike. On October 7th his family went to visit him in Evin Prison . He had become very skinny and was very ill. He was looking like a skeleton. We are very worried. The family asked Mohammed to end his hunger strike, but he said he will continue until his demands are met. The hunger strike is in his the only means left for him,” Azardokht Taheri said.

  

Azardokht Taheri at a rally for her brother in New York 

  

“If anything happens to him in prison Khamenei himself and judiciary officials must be held accountable. Mohammad had very basic and legal requests, and he launched a hunger strike due to the officials neglect to these requests,” she added.
“Mohammad is not allowed to see his clients. They don’t even provide him with any papers or pens to write down his defense statements. They haven’t even announced his verdict to him. He has learned of his ruling through his family. If I learn that if I set myself able my brother will gain some attention and someone will do something, I will most definitely do this,” she added.

( NCRI Women’s Committee – October 10, 2015)

Mohsen Mojtahed-Shabestari on crackdown against Iranian women

Iran: Tabriz Friday prayer leader calls for more crackdown on women

Mohsen Mojtahed-Shabestari, Khamenei’s representative in West Azerbaijan Province (northwest Iran) in a meeting with state security force commanders of this province called for further crackdown on women.
“Some people in the society neglect the Sharia and Islamic rulings and principles. One must stand firm against these measures,” he said.
“The police must use its all its force and will to act based on its legal duties and take the fight against moral indiscipline seriously,” he said in reference to what the mullahs in Iran describe as improper veiling.

(State-run IRNA news agency – October 8, 2015)

Iran: cellmate of executed decorator saved from death

                                     Women in Iranian prisons

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Mohammad Ali Jaddari Forughi, the lawyer of death row prisoner Sahar Mahabadi Monfared wrote:
“Sahar Mahabadi Monfared was saved from “Qisas” (punishment of retaliation) at 2:30 pm on Monday, October 5 after the family members of the victim agreed to spare her…”

Reyhaneh Jabbari

It must be noted that Reyhane Jabbari, a 26-year old decorator who was in the same ward with Sahar for about a year prior to her execution, had placed intensive effort with the help of her mother – Mrs. Sho’le Pakravan – to save Sahar’s life and have her spared from execution. This was done while she, herself was on the death row and was finally hanged on Oct. 25, 2014.

( NCRI Women’s Committee )

Iran: regime agents deny medical care for political prisoner Narges Mohammadi

Political prisoner Narges Mohammadi

Political prisoner Narges Mohammadi, already deprived of a phone call with her twin children for over two months now, is currently under extremely harsh physical conditions imposed by the Iranian regime agents, reports indicate.
The mullahs’ judiciary officials are preventing her transfer to a hospital despite the fact that medical specialists and even Evin Prison physicians have emphasized on her need to be hospitalized.
Mohammadi is facing charges such as collusion, assembly against national security and propaganda against the state. She is scheduled to be prosecuted on October 7th by Salavati, a so-called judge in branch 15 of the regime’s courts in Tehran
In addition to polititical repressions against Iranian women,more women in Iran become unemployed&live in poverty

Last year the International Monetary Fund said Iran has an unemployment rate of 11.2%, ranking 26th in the world in this regard.In recent years a significant increase in women’s unemployment has played a large role in the calculation of unemployment in Iran. Women who are both educated and yet unemployed. Last week the Iranian regime’s vice president in women and family affairs said more than 40% of college educated women in Iran are unemployed.
“Unemployment amongst women with higher education and single mothers not only plays against their interests, it also has a majorly negative impact as the country is not being able to take advantage of these human resources,” Molavardi said.
“Currently, not only are women who have been deprived of education and necessary skills more likely to fall into crimes, but also there is a high number of educated women that are engulfed in economic problems and have resorted to committing crimes,” said Hossein Raghfar, a university professor. (State-run Fararu.com website – September 12, 2015)
The state-run Mizan news agency wrote the following piece: “A report of the Census Center on unemployment rates in spring 2015 shows unemployment amongst the country’s above 10 population standing at 10.8%. This is 9% amongst men and 19.2% amongst women. Unemployment amongst men in various age groups is 21.8%, and 47.2% amongst women.”