Political prisoner, Sarvnaz Ahmadi, has been on a medication strike since September 7, 2024, protesting the rejection of her medical furlough request and the delay in delivering her essential medications.
Sarvnaz Ahmadi, who suffers from a neurological condition, recently experienced another severe nervous attack. Despite her deteriorating physical health, she has continued her medication strike.
This strike has caused her to suffer from persistent headaches, insomnia, and severe muscle spasms. On the seventeenth day of her strike, she remains defiant, refusing both her regular medication and sedatives. As a result, she is enduring chronic pain, and the recurrence of her nervous attacks is a looming threat.
Ahmadi had previously suffered a nervous breakdown during a security forces’ raid on the women’s ward of Evin Prison and was subsequently transferred to the hospital. After an assessment, doctors expressed concerns that she may have epilepsy and emphasized that she requires specialized medical care outside the prison.
Sarvnaz Ahmadi was arrested during the nationwide protests in 2022. After a period of detention, she was released on bail but was re-arrested on April 27, 2023, at the home of teacher activist Mohammad Habibi. Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to five years in prison for “collusion and assembly against national security” and an additional year for “propaganda against the regime.” This sentence was later reduced to 3.5 years by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals.
Sarvnaz Ahmadi holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Rehabilitation Sciences in Velenjak.
The imprisonment of individuals with serious illnesses is a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This practice not only contradicts basic human and moral values but also violates several articles of this Declaration.
