Death of a Prisoner in Qarchak; 'Prison Doctor Said She Was Faking'

A human rights organization reported the death of Farzaneh Bijanipour, a prisoner held in Qarchak women's prison, due to the 'refusal of the prison doctor to provide adequate medical care.' According to the Iran Human Rights Organization on Sunday, January 13, a prisoner named Farzaneh Bijanipour, a general crimes inmate held in Ward 6 of Varamin Correctional Facility (Qarchak women's prison), died as a result of the violation of her right to medical treatment. The human rights organization reported that this prisoner, after visiting the prison clinic 'feeling shivery and unwell,' died due to 'the refusal of the prison doctor to provide adequate medical care.' The report stated that despite Ms. Bijanipour's poor condition, when she visited the clinic on Saturday evening, 'the prison doctor said she was faking' and 'once again, Farzaneh Bijanipour's cellmates took her to the clinic in bad condition, but the doctor only prescribed a painkiller.' The report from this human rights organization in Iran stated: 'In the evening, Ms. Bijanipour lost consciousness and died shortly after being transferred to the clinic. The prison authorities only took action to send her to the hospital after she had passed away.' Widespread violations of the right to medical treatment in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been reported multiple times, and several prisoners have lost their lives due to the negligence of prison officials and deprivation of access to medical services. According to the latest report on the situation of Khaled Pirzadeh, a political prisoner in Evin, he has warned that he holds the head of the prison organization responsible for any incident as his illnesses have worsened and he has run out of medication. Additionally, an exclusive report from Qazalhasar prison, recently provided to Voice of America, revealed that judicial officials in this prison, besides widespread violations of prisoners' rights to medical treatment under the pretext of 'lack of budget,' sometimes obtain written consent from them to 'waive treatment.' Furthermore, the brother of Fatemeh Sepahri, a political prisoner who was returned to prison after open-heart surgery and whose health is at risk, told Voice of America that the authorities at Vakilabad prison 'locked all the wards' and claimed that 'it is the judge's order,' while 'there is no reason for this action.' Moreover, the wife of Manoochehr Bakhtiari recently announced that the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic returned this political prisoner, who urgently needed to complete his treatment and rest, to Chubin Dar prison in Qazvin. Warnings about 'systematic abuse of prisoners' in the prisons of Karaj and Mashhad have also been raised.