Letter from Narges Mohammadi and Nazanin Zaghari to Tehran’s Prosecutor Requesting Medical Services
Narges Mohammadi and Nazanin Zaghari have written to Jafari Dolat-Abadi, Tehran’s prosecutor, stating that if their requests for access to medical services continue to be ignored, they will resort to protest measures.
According to the “Human Rights Activists Center” website, Narges Mohammadi, deputy head and spokesperson of the Center for Defenders of Human Rights Iran, and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, have written to Tehran’s prosecutor that they will take protest measures if their requests are not addressed. They emphasized that for months they have been deprived of receiving medication due to not having access to a physician.
Ms. Mohammadi and Ms. Zaghari referred in their letter to their three-day hunger strike. They had protested the lack of access to medical and pharmaceutical services. Some officials claimed they had sufficient medical facilities available.
Ms. Mohammadi and Ms. Zaghari, who have been imprisoned for years now, wrote from Evin Prison to Tehran’s prosecutor:
“About two months ago, in protest of medical negligence and lack of access to our treating physicians and medications, we went on a three-day hunger strike and became hopeful about resuming our treatment based on positive statements from some officials. This was while the statements of some responsible officials claiming that we have access to medical facilities and services, at least in recent months, was inaccurate.”
They complained that after more than two months had passed since their hunger strike and “despite corresponding and making repeated appeals to the authorities, unfortunately medical visits are still not being carried out and we are deprived of medical care. This is despite the fact that our repeated visits to our treating physicians at medical centers during the years we have spent in prison have been routine, but for unknown reasons are not being conducted.”
Two Prisoners’ Need for Specialized Treatment
Narges Mohammadi has contracted various illnesses over the years of imprisonment, including pulmonary embolism. Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Narges Mohammadi’s defense lawyer, said to IRNA news agency last month that for over a year, Narges Mohammadi’s specialist physician has determined that due to hemorrhaging, her uterus should be removed. Ms. Mohammadi’s lawyer also stated that his efforts to send Narges Mohammadi to the hospital have been unsuccessful.
Ms. Zaghari has contracted chest discomfort in prison and other ailments requiring specialized treatment. She was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 on charges of espionage. Nazanin Zaghari has rejected this charge. However, her husband told the media that Iranian security agencies had pressured her to spy for them in Britain in exchange for her release from prison.
In their letter, Narges Mohammadi and Nazanin Zaghari have requested that the relevant authorities agree to send them to a physician and provide them with access to treatment and medication. They warned Tehran’s prosecutor that the responsibility for any incidents or worsening of their illnesses will rest with the responsible officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s system.
