Deterioration of Health after 17 Years in Prison
Zeinab Jalalian, a political prisoner in Iran, has been suffering from severe health issues due to the intense physical torture she endured during and after her arrest. Her ailments include vision impairment, pterygium (a growth in the eye), asthma, kidney issues, and gastrointestinal disorders. Over the years, her condition has worsened due to the authorities’ neglect of her medical needs.
Her physical condition has reportedly deteriorated further, with severe pain in her right side. Despite this, authorities at Yazd Prison, where she is currently held, have denied her access to necessary medical care.
Return to Cell Without Specialist Consultation
In early June 2024, Jalalian was transferred to the prison’s medical facility due to severe pain in her right side. However, she was sent back to her cell without being seen by a specialist. Despite her ongoing pain, prison officials have made no serious efforts to transfer her to a hospital outside the prison or arrange a specialist consultation. These actions are seen as a means of further torturing her.
Currently, due to the lack of medical care, Jalalian has developed skin blemishes and boils on her face, shoulders, and chest. She has requested a transfer to a hospital for an ultrasound and further tests, but her requests have gone unanswered.
Medical Care Conditional on Signing a Confession
In May 2024, a team of interrogators and officials from the Ministry of Intelligence met with Jalalian twice at the Central Prison of Yazd, demanding that she sign a confession in exchange for medical treatment. Jalalian refused, asserting that medical care and conditional release for treatment are her legitimate rights.
In November 2023, she was similarly threatened by Ministry of Intelligence interrogators, who told her that unless she expressed remorse, she would be denied all basic rights, including access to medical services. Jalalian condemned this as torture and firmly rejected it.
Increased Pressure for Forced Confessions
Jalalian has repeatedly been pressured to make forced confessions on camera, but she has consistently refused.
After being held in Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah, she was secretly transferred to Khoy Prison in December 2014, without prior notice to her family or lawyer. On April 29, 2020, she was suddenly transferred from Khoy Prison to Qarchak Prison in Varamin, near Tehran.
While on hunger strike, Jalalian was moved from Qarchak Prison to Kerman Prison on June 25, 2020. She was placed in solitary confinement in Kerman despite contracting COVID-19 while at Qarchak Prison, which severely worsened her health.
On Tuesday, September 22, 2020, after spending three months in solitary confinement with her health in critical condition, Jalalian was transferred back to Kermanshah Prison. On November 10, 2020, in a brief phone call with her family, she informed them that she had been transferred to Yazd Prison.
After several transfers from one prison to another, Jalalian is currently held in Yazd Prison. Despite 17 years of imprisonment, she has not been granted a single day of medical leave.
Denial of Medical Care as a Form of Torture and Human Rights Violation
Deliberate denial of medical care to prisoners can be considered a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Such acts are classified as international crimes and are strongly condemned under international human rights and humanitarian laws.
