Iran: Let Prisoners Get Needed Medical Care
Health of Three Men at Risk
(New York, June 5, 2008) – Iranian authorities should immediately grant three men detained on politically motivated charges access to proper medical care, Human Rights Watch said today. Cleric Ayatollah Kazemi Boroujerdi, journalist and activist Mohammad-Sadiq Kaboudvand, and prominent human rights defender Emad Baghi are in poor health and urgently require specialist medical attention.
The authorities are holding all three men in section 209 of Evin prison, a security unit where Human Rights Watch has
previously documented abuses. Baghi had a heart
attack on May 11 and Kaboudvand had a stroke on May
19, while Boroujerdi suffers from a range of
ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
“It’s outrageous that these men’s health is being comprised for no apparent
reason,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North
Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Iranian authorities have
yet to produce evidence for why these men are in prison to begin with, and now
they are refusing to provide them with adequate care.”
In March and April 2008, authorities transferred Boroujerdi
to the prison clinic on numerous occasions. According to sources familiar with
his case, Boroujerdi’s physical and mental health
have continued to deteriorate, and the authorities have denied his repeated
requests to access outside medical care.
On October 8, 2006, authorities arrested Boroujerdi
at his house in Tehran
and transferred him to Evin 209. In July 2007, the Special Court for
the Clergy convicted him on unknown charges in a closed court. Boroujerdi espouses an interpretation of Islam that calls
for the separation of religion and politics. It appears likely that the
authorities have targeted him for his critical views
about the current form of the Iranian government.
Throughout his detention, Boroujerdi has not had
access to a lawyer or physician of his choice.
Baghi, who had previously served a three-year
sentence for his writings, has been in Evin Prison
since October 2007. On October 14,
Branch 1 of the Security Unit of the General and Revolutionary Public
Prosecutor’s Office charged him with “propaganda against the State” and
“publishing secret government documents” in his capacity as president of the
Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, a nongovernmental organization
that he founded in 2003.
While in solitary confinement in Evin 209, Baghi developed heart problems. In February 2008,
authorities granted him a two-month release from prison on medical grounds,
although they continued to summon and question him during this time. After the
expiration of his release on April 15, authorities rearrested Baghi and returned him to prison.
On May 11, Baghi suffered a heart attack. Authorities
transferred him to the prison’s clinic but soon returned him to his cell.
Kaboudvand, a journalist and a founder of Human
Rights Organization of Kurdistan, was arrested in 2007 on charges of
“endangering national security” and “propaganda against the State.”
On May 19, 2008, Kaboudvand suffered a heart attack
in prison. According to public statements by his lawyer, Kaboudvand’s
numerous requests for medical care have gone unheeded.
Kaboudvand was also the owner, general manager, and
editor of the Persian-language newspaper Payam-e
Mardom, which the government suspended in 2005.
In April 2006, the Public Prosecutor’s Court in Sanandaj gave him a suspended
sentence of one year in prison on charges of “creating splits among groups of
people by raising tribal and racial issues.”
Under the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, prisoners
who require specialist treatment should be transferred to specialized
institutions or to civil hospitals.
“The Iranian authorities are responsible for the well-being of these
prisoners,” said Whitson. “This includes ensuring that each of the three men
get immediate access to the specialist care that they need. If this care is not
available in the prison, it should be provided outside.”
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