Zeinab Jalalian, a political prisoner serving a life sentence, continues to endure her incarceration in Yazd Prison under harsh conditions without access to specialized medical care.
This Kurdish political prisoner exiled to Yazd Prison in violation of the principle of separation of crimes, has been barred from visiting her family for more than 100 days.
Zeinab Jalalian suffers from kidney, gastrointestinal, and eye ailments. However, due to obstruction by prison officials, she has been denied adequate and consistent medical treatment. Prison authorities have refused to provide her with the results of medical tests and imaging conducted in late October, effectively halting her treatment. Moreover, as per the orders of the Intelligence Ministry, she has been denied family visits since September 22, 2024—a ban that persists months later.
Zeinab Jalalian was arrested in 2007 and, in 2009, was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal border crossing. Additionally, she was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” for alleged membership in opposition groups. Her death sentence was upheld by the appeals court and the Supreme Court but later commuted to life imprisonment.
She has repeatedly stated that during her detention, she was subjected to severe torture, including being flogged on the soles of her feet, punched in the stomach, having her head slammed against walls, and being threatened with sexual assault. Jalalian is now in her 17th year of imprisonment.
