Human Rights Sources: Condition of Some Political Prisoners is Severe
According to human rights activists in Iran, political prisoners Abbas Vahdian Shahroudi, Sepideh Ghollyan, and Mohammad Hoshang are held in unsuitable physical conditions. Vahdian has been transferred to a hospital and Ghollyan has contracted coronavirus.
Human rights activists in Iran say that Abbas Vahdian Shahroudi, a teacher and civil activist, was transferred to Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad on Saturday night, March 28th, due to unsuitable physical condition, and was returned to detention by security forces this morning without regard to doctors’ recommendations. The Hrana news website reported that Vahdian Shahroudi spent the last six months in one of the solitary cells of Mashhad Information Detention Center.
It is said that his unsuitable physical condition was accompanied by symptoms of poisoning, shortness of breath, and low heart rate, and he was released from prison on doctors’ orders due to urgent need for medical care.
A source told Hrana news agency that during Vahdian Shahroudi’s presence at the hospital, security and hospital protection personnel did not allow him to contact his family. This issue has raised concerns about his condition.
Amnesty International previously called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Abbas Vahdian “immediately and unconditionally.”
Abbas Vahdian Shahroudi is a teacher, writer, and civil activist residing in Mashhad province who was arrested on Wednesday, September 1st. A few days after his arrest, in a telephone contact with his family, he informed them of the opening of a new case titled “Action Against National Security.”
Shahroudi was previously sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by Branch 4 of Mashhad Revolutionary Court in another case.
Sepideh Ghollyan’s Life is in Danger
Human rights activists say that the physical condition of Sepideh Ghollyan, a civil activist imprisoned in Bushehr Prison, has deteriorated following her contraction of coronavirus, and her life is at risk.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Sepideh Ghollyan has contracted coronavirus and is suffering from stomach bleeding, and her condition is deteriorating and her life is at risk. Despite this, she has been transferred to the prison quarantine and her condition is not being attended to.
Moreover, her furlough has not been approved and repeated appeals by her family have been unsuccessful.
This civil activist was arrested in November 2018 during Khuzestan labor protests along with Esmail Bakhshi, a labor activist, and a number of workers from the Haftappeh Sugarcane Agro-Industrial Company. She was transferred to prison on May 7th, 2019.
Continuation of Mohammad Hoshang’s Hunger Strike and Transfer to Solitary Confinement
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Mohammad Hoshang, a detained Kurdish activist who was on a hunger strike, was transferred to solitary confinement by order of prison authorities.
It is said that he has been on a hunger strike since March 24th in protest of his prolonged detention and the Sepah Intelligence Organization’s opposition to his conditional release despite posting bail.
Mohammad Hoshang was arrested on January 11th, 2021 by Sepah Intelligence Organization forces in Tehran and transferred to the Sepah Intelligence Organization’s 7 Tir Detention Center in Urmia.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, after 6 months of detention in this facility, he was transferred to Urmia Central Prison with an order for temporary detention.
Source: DW
