Latest status of the case and health of Hamed Gharah-oghlani, a political prisoner imprisoned in Urmia Central Prison

Hamed Gharahoghlani's sister says that Urmia Central Prison authorities are refusing to send this political prisoner, who is not in good physical condition, to a hospital outside the prison .

Hanieh Qara-oghlani, the sister of political prisoner Hamed Qara-oghlani, told VOA that the political prisoner, who suffers from Grand Mal epilepsy, is not in good physical condition and that prison authorities are refusing to give him the medications that his doctor prescribed and his family has delivered to the prison.

According to Ms. Qara-oghlani, Hamed Qara-oghlani should be examined by a specialist doctor every month and neurological examinations should be performed on him regularly every 6 months, but due to the prison authorities' obstruction, these examinations were not performed, leading to the deterioration of Hamed Qara-oghlani's physical condition in prison .

He further told VOA that the prison's medical doctor also refused to visit Mr. Qaraoghlani, saying that treating this political prisoner was not his area of ​​expertise. He also said that a psychiatrist visited him in prison once, but "he questioned him more about his beliefs than about his professional issues."

Hamed Gharah-oghlani, a 34-year-old political prisoner of conscience, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on July 27 of this year and transferred to Urmia Prison after 26 days. According to available information, the trial of this political prisoner was held in Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court in early December for ten minutes. Despite denying the charges, this political prisoner was sentenced to 14 years and one month in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime,” “insulting the leadership,” and “membership in hostile groups and working towards their goals,” without being allowed to defend himself in this case .

Hanieh Qaraoghlani, speaking about her brother's case, told VOA: "They didn't even allow Hamed himself to read the verdict in detail, and we heard the verdict from the lawyer before Hamed's trial was held in December."

Ms. Qara-oghlani cited Hamed Qara-oghlani's membership in the People's Mojahedin Organization as an example of the charges in the indictment. Referring to the forced confession of this political prisoner, she told VOA: "The forced confessions they took from him have led to him being accused of being a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization and working for their goals, while he has no ties to this group."

Amnesty International recently issued a call for people and human rights activists around the world to write a letter to the head of the judiciary demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Hamed Qaraoghlani, a prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and communication.

The sister of this political prisoner further told VOA that, with the aim of extracting "forced confessions," this political prisoner was threatened with the murder of his mother and the arrest of his sister during interrogations. On the other hand, after Hamed Qara-oghlani was arrested, Qara-oghlani's mother and wife were also summoned for interrogation, and during the interrogation, they were forced to sign a commitment not to insult "the sacred places" and the "Leader of the Islamic Republic."
The US Department of State has repeatedly condemned the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime's violent actions against the people of Iran, including civil activists, under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by agents of the regime.

Source: Voice of America