Lack of medical attention for Munireh Arabshahi in Karaj's Kachhui Prison
Munireh Arabshahi, a civil rights activist imprisoned in Karaj’s Kachouei Prison, has been denied medical attention despite doctors’ advice to undergo a thyroid scan and the need for surgery. On Sunday, December 13, the prison’s specialist doctor had ordered the necessary test to be performed within 48 hours, but this has not yet been accomplished. Munireh Arabshahi and her daughter Yasman Ariani are opponents of compulsory hijab and are serving their sentences in Karaj’s Kachouei Prison.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Monireh Arabshahi, a civil activist imprisoned in Karaj's Kachhui Prison, has been denied medical attention despite doctors' recommendations to undergo a thyroid scan and the need for surgery.
A source familiar with the health condition of this imprisoned civil activist told HRANA: "Last week, the prison's general physician, after examining Ms. Arabshahi, referred her to a specialist doctor due to swelling of the thyroid gland. On Sunday, December 13, after the examination, the prison's specialist doctor also emphasized the need for surgery and the need for a scan within 48 hours; Ms. Arabshahi is now having difficulty breathing due to swelling in her throat, but the doctor's order to perform the test has not yet been carried out."
On the other hand, Ms. Arabshahi and her daughter Yasman Ariani have been denied leave due to the authorities’ delay in transferring the case from Evin Prison to Kachhui Prison. According to this informed source, the Ariani family had been requesting leave for the past month, especially after Yasman Ariani contracted the coronavirus, but the Karaj prosecutor’s office said it opposed the request because she had not served a third of her sentence.
The informed source added: "Yaseman Ariani and Munireh Arabshahi have served more than a third of their prison term. After following up, the family discovered that Evin Prison had not sent their case file, which was transferred to Kachouei Prison in Karaj on October 20 of this year, and now the starting date of their imprisonment is October 20 of this year, which is the time of their transfer to Kachouei Prison in Karaj. The problem that has arisen is due to the negligence of Evin Prison officials and the result of their haste in transferring them to Kachouei Prison without coordination."
Yasman Ariani, who was released from Evin Prison on February 15, 2018, upon completion of her previous sentence, was re-arrested on February 11, 2019 and transferred to the Vazra Detention Center in Tehran. She was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin along with her mother, Monireh Arabshahi, who was arrested a day after her child. They were finally transferred from Qarchak Prison in Varamin to the women's ward of Evin Prison on August 12, 2019, and were deported again on October 20, 2019, from the women's ward of Evin Prison to Kachouei Prison in Karaj.
The daughter and her imprisoned mother were tried in August 2019 by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, and each was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the charges of “gathering and colluding with the intention of acting against national security, propagating against the system, and encouraging and providing the conditions for corruption and prostitution.” On appeal, each was sentenced to a total of 9 years and 7 months in prison. Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the most severe punishment, i.e. 5 years and 6 months in prison, is applicable to each of them.
Source: HRANA
