Somayeh Rashidi, a 42-year-old political prisoner held in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, was transferred on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, to Mofatteh Hospital following severe seizures and a critical deterioration in her condition.
Her transfer took place after several months of delay, and her health is now described as life-threatening. Doctors have stated that her level of consciousness has dropped to five, and they have lost hope of saving her.
Somayeh Rashidi has long struggled with physical health problems and periodic psychological disorders while in prison. However, instead of providing appropriate medical care, prison authorities have accused her of malingering, prescribing only sedatives and psychiatric drugs. This neglect has further worsened her condition.
Sources close to her family warn that security officials are attempting to present her transfer because of an “attempted suicide” to evade responsibility.
Born in 1983 and a resident of Tehran, Somayeh Rashidi was arrested on April 24, 2025, while writing protest slogans in the Javadieh neighborhood. She was violently beaten at the time of her arrest by security forces. After two days of detention at the 15 Khordad Investigation Center, she was transferred to Evin Prison. Following the destruction of Evin in late June, she was moved along with other female political prisoners to Qarchak Prison.
Testimonies from inside Qarchak highlight the dire state of medical services in the facility. The infirmary, operating without specialized physicians, routinely prescribes medication without proper diagnosis—practices that in multiple cases have exacerbated illnesses or even led to prisoners’ deaths. Moreover, inmates and their families report being forced to pay bribes in exchange for hospital transfers or medical care, a policy that endangers the lives of some 2,000 detainees, including more than 60 political prisoners.
