The death of "Somaiyeh Rashidi" is further evidence of the cruelty of the Islamic Republic's prison system.

The death of Somayeh Rashidi after being denied treatment once again demonstrates the government's cruel treatment of political prisoners.

Somayeh Rashidi, a 42-year-old political prisoner, died today, Thursday, September 25, 2025, after several days in a coma at Mofateh Hospital in Varamin. The news of her death was confirmed by the judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency.

According to sources close to Somayeh, she was a seamstress who was arrested in May of this year on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and related to slogan-writing. After spending some time in Evin Prison, she was transferred to Qarchak Prison. Inmates and family members have reported that she has suffered from repeated seizures and severe headaches for months and has repeatedly required serious medical attention.

According to his fellow inmates, each time Rashidi's condition worsened, prison health officials dismissed his symptoms as "maltreatment" and refused to send him to the hospital or provide him with the necessary care, until he eventually fell into a coma and, according to relatives, was only rushed to the hospital after suffering a severe seizure and falling. This pattern of delay and disregard for the medical condition of political prisoners has been repeatedly reported by human rights organizations and the media.

In an attempt to justify the incident, the judiciary and Mizan News Agency, while confirming his death, have spoken about Rashidi's police and security background and claimed that he was arrested in 1401 and 1402 and charged with "associating with the Nifaq group" (a reference to the People's Mojahedin Organization), and after his release, he was again accused of being associated with that movement.

They also claimed that the family had “refused” to post bail. This type of official narrative has always been used as a way to cover up the failure to provide medical care to prisoners. A government that sacrifices the lives of protesters and prisoners in a power game.

The death of Somayeh Rashidi is not an isolated incident, but part of a recurring pattern. The repression and medical deprivation of political prisoners is often responded to with official narratives. When the responsible authorities call a prisoner’s medical warnings “pretense” and when the time for transfer to the hospital is delayed, the result is nothing but the loss of a human life and the humiliation of his family. With these behaviors, the Iranian government shows that it considers the lives and dignity of political prisoners and religious minorities as a tool of pressure and punishment, not a human and legal responsibility.

Depriving political and conscientious prisoners of access to appropriate medical treatment is a clear violation of human rights and requires immediate follow-up by independent human rights institutions and the international community.

Official narratives about Rashidi's security record and family denials are often presented to minimize government responsibility; but his family and associates are eyewitnesses, and their statements should not be simply ignored.