Evin Prison Officials Prevent Issuance of 'Incapacity for Punishment' Ruling for Mahvash Sabat

Mahvash Sabat's daughter, a Bahai poet imprisoned, says Evin prison officials have prevented the transfer of her mother's medical file to forensic medicine despite her undergoing open-heart surgery and suffering from lung issues and osteoporosis. Negar Sabat confirmed in an interview with Radio Farda on Thursday, January 3, that despite over two years of 'certificates and testimonies' from doctors being submitted to Evin prison, the authorities have refused to send her mother's case to forensic medicine. The execution of the 10-year sentence for the 73-year-old Bahai prisoner, who underwent open-heart surgery last week, has not been halted despite specialist doctors' certificates, and for administrative procedures, it is necessary for her medical file to be sent to forensic medicine by Evin prison. Mahvash Sabat, along with Fariba Kamalabadi, both former leaders of the Bahai community in Iran, were arrested for the second time in August 2022. Mahvash Sabat, a 73-year-old political prisoner with a history of serving 10 years in prison due to her activities, was sentenced to another 10 years in December 2022 alongside Ms. Kamalabadi. Currently on medical leave, Mahvash Sabat underwent open-heart surgery last week due to blockage in two main heart arteries, and doctors have stated that to address a tumor in her lung, the 'recovery' from the open-heart surgery must be fully completed. Her daughter told Radio Farda that despite her mother's leave being extended for a month, the anxiety and stress from the lack of cancellation of her mother's sentence and the possibility of her return to prison overshadow her mother's treatment process. Negar Sabat stated, 'It is clear to us that if there is no behind-the-scenes intervention or manipulation, the execution of my mother's sentence would have been halted, and forensic medicine would issue an 'incapacity' ruling for her.' Ms. Sabat further mentioned that being a woman, a poet, and a Bahai has always put her mother under pressure from security forces. Human Rights Watch, in a statement this December, indicated that the Iranian government uses the deprivation of medical services for political prisoners as a tool for repression. The statement also referenced the deteriorating health conditions of Mahvash Sabat, as well as Raheleh Rahimipour, 72, and Vrisheh Moradi in Evin prison, and Zeynab Jalalian, a Kurdish political prisoner in Yazd Central Prison. Islamic Republic officials have repeatedly emphasized the execution of sentences for ideological and political prisoners despite their deteriorating health. So far, several political prisoners and detained protesters, including poet Bakhtash Abtin, as well as a number of ordinary crime prisoners in detention centers and prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have lost their lives due to reasons such as 'lack of medical attention,' 'prevention of hospital transfer,' and 'denial of medical leave.'