Zeinab Jalalian, a Kurdish political prisoner serving a life sentence in the central Iranian city of Yazd, continues to face severe medical neglect despite her deteriorating health. Suffering from vision impairment, kidney disease, and gastrointestinal issues, she remains deprived of adequate medical care and has been barred from family visits for over three months, a restriction reportedly ordered by the Iranian regime’s Ministry of Intelligence.
Chronic Medical Neglect and Lack of Treatment
According to sources close to Jalalian’s family, prison authorities have refused to provide her with results from medical tests and imaging she previously underwent, leaving her treatment incomplete. Despite severe pain in her right side and skin conditions affecting her face, chest, and shoulders, requests for transfer to an external hospital for specialized care have been denied. Jalalian’s health has significantly worsened in recent months due to lack of treatment and prison conditions.
Prison officials have conditioned medical care on her signing a “letter of repentance,” which Jalalian has consistently refused, asserting that medical treatment is her basic human right. Iranian intelligence officers reportedly threatened her in November 2023, stating that she would remain deprived of all basic rights, including medical care, until she complies with their demands.
History of Arrest and Torture
Zeinab Jalalian was born in 1982 in Dim Qeshlaq, a village near Maku in northwestern Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province. She was arrested on March 10, 2008, on the Kermanshah-Sanandaj highway and later convicted of “enmity against God” (Moharebeh) for alleged affiliation with a Kurdish opposition group. Her initial death sentence, handed down after a trial lasting only minutes and held without legal representation, was later commuted to life imprisonment in 2011.
During her detention, Jalalian endured severe physical and psychological torture, including beatings, threats of sexual violence, and being struck on the head with an iron rod, which reportedly caused her to lose consciousness. These abuses left her with permanent health issues, including vision problems and respiratory difficulties.
Sixteen Years of Imprisonment Without Furlough
Over her 16 years in prison, Jalalian has been transferred multiple times between facilities, often without prior notice to her family or legal counsel. She has been held in various prisons, including Kermanshah, Evin, Khoy, and Qarchak, and was eventually moved to Yazd in November 2020. During this time, she has not been granted a single day of medical furlough, despite her worsening health.
In one instance, family members who had traveled from Maku to Yazd for a visit were turned back mid-journey after being informed of her visitation ban. Such measures highlight the systemic denial of her basic rights, including family contact.
International Law and Human Rights Violations
Deliberate denial of medical care constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under international human rights law. Experts argue that such practices amount to torture and are in clear violation of Iran’s obligations under treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a signatory.
Zeinab Jalalian’s case underscores the harsh realities faced by political prisoners in Iran, particularly women and members of ethnic minorities. Her continued imprisonment under life-threatening conditions highlights systemic human rights abuses within the Iranian regime’s prison system. The international community must intensify its efforts to hold Iranian authorities accountable for their treatment of political prisoners and demand immediate medical care and fair treatment for Zeinab Jalalian.
