Taktem Ramazani Dies in Vakilabad Prison; When Medical Treatment Becomes a Privilege

Taktem Ramazani, a 37-year-old female inmate at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, died after four days of enduring severe abdominal pain, allegedly due to delays in her transfer to a hospital. Her death once again highlights the issue of prisoners’ deprivation of timely medical care in Iran—a right that even committing a crime cannot strip from a person.

According to a report released by the human rights organization Hengaw, 37-year-old Taktem Ramazani, a resident of Mashhad, lost her life on Tuesday, the 20th of Mordad 1405 (corresponding to August 11, 2026), in Ward Two for women at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

According to the report, Ramazani suffered severe pain in her abdomen and gallbladder area for four days before her death. As her physical condition deteriorated, she and her cellmates repeatedly requested medical attention and her transfer to a hospital. According to her cellmates’ statements, prison officials and medical staff, despite the severity of Taktem’s condition, refrained from immediately transferring her to a specialized medical facility outside the prison. Ultimately, rupture of her gallbladder led to her death.

The details of this case have thus far been largely released by human rights sources, and no independent official explanation has been issued by judicial authorities or Iran’s Prison Organization regarding allegations of “deliberate negligence” by prison officials. Therefore, this part of the report should be considered within the framework of claims made by human rights sources.

Taktem Ramazani had previously been detained on charges related to “narcotics” and was sentenced to imprisonment. During her detention, she also worked as a laborer in the prison’s waste collection department.

However, even if the charges brought against an inmate are true, the principal issue in such a case must not be lost: “A prisoner does not forfeit the right to life and the right to medical care upon entering prison.”

A sentence of imprisonment is a deprivation of freedom, not a deprivation of medical treatment. A prisoner may have committed murder, theft, drug-related crimes, or any other offense; however, their criminal liability cannot serve as justification for disregarding a medical emergency or denying them access to necessary treatment.

This is not a new concern regarding Iranian prisons. Human Rights Watch announced in October 2025, following the deaths of three female inmates at Qarchak Prison, that these deaths exemplified a longstanding pattern of denying prisoners medical care. The organization emphasized that Iranian authorities, by denying prisoners medical care, may even contribute to their deaths.

In its 2026 report on Iran, Human Rights Watch stated that the deliberate deprivation of prisoners from appropriate and timely medical care remains widespread and systematic. The organization cited cases of sick prisoners who were denied transfer to medical facilities outside the prison and prevented from receiving specialized care.

Amnesty International has also long warned about this issue. In a report on the state of medical care in Iranian prisons, the organization documented numerous cases in which transfers of prisoners to hospitals were delayed or even withheld after transfer. In some cases, prisoners have died in prison or during transfer to hospitals.

The death of Taktem Ramazani, if the reported details are confirmed, is therefore not merely an individual case; it is a reminder of a fundamental question about the condition of Iranian prisons: Does the life of a prisoner lose value due to committing a crime?

Human rights are founded on the principle that human dignity does not disappear even under conditions of imprisonment. A prisoner may lose their freedom of movement, but the right to life, protection from torture and inhumane treatment, and access to appropriate medical care remain intact.

For this reason, the discussion regarding Taktem Ramazani must not be limited to what charges she was imprisoned for. Even if her charges have been proven and a judicial sentence has been issued against her, the question of how prison officials handled her illness remains: Was four days of severe pain not sufficient warning to transfer an inmate to a hospital? Were the prison’s medical facilities adequate to diagnose and treat her condition? And if transfer to a hospital was necessary, why was it not done in time?

These questions become even more significant because reports from international organizations show that the problem of Iranian prisoners’ access to medical treatment is not limited to one prison or one specific case. Human Rights Watch has referred to “deliberate and timely deprivation” of medical care as part of inhumane treatment of prisoners in Iran, and Amnesty International has documented multiple cases of death and serious harm resulting from delays or deprivation of medical treatment.

Under such circumstances, defending the right to medical treatment for prisoners does not mean defending their crimes; rather, the issue is a defense of human rights.

If a prison is to be a place for enforcing sentences, it must not become a place for additional punishment, deprivation of medical care, or jeopardizing human lives. The government’s responsibility toward the life of a prisoner does not end when the cell door closes; rather, from that very moment, ensuring the prisoner’s health and dignity becomes a direct responsibility of the prison system.

The death of Taktem Ramazani, as reported, requires an independent and transparent investigation into the cause of death, the process of medical attention, her and her cellmates’ requests for hospital transfer, and the conduct of prison officials. If any negligence or deliberate deprivation of her medical treatment occurred, those responsible must be held accountable.

Such investigations are conducted not to exonerate a prisoner from possible charges, but to uphold a principle that must not be forgotten in any prison: No person, not even a prisoner, should lose their life due to deprivation of preventable medical treatment.