Exclusive: Death of a Prisoner Due to Denial of Medical Treatment in Qazalhessar

Voice of America has learned that a cancer-stricken prisoner, whose treatment was repeatedly denied by Qazalhessar prison officials under the pretext of 'lack of budget,' has died following a delayed transfer to a hospital. An informed source told the Persian section of Voice of America that Saeed Zadeh-Raieit, a regular prisoner sentenced to long-term imprisonment for drug-related crimes and who had spent years in prison, was transferred to an outside hospital last month due to a deterioration in his health. However, due to delayed medical attention, he lost his life. According to information received by Voice of America, Mr. Zadeh-Raieit had recently been moved to 'Unit One' of Qazalhessar prison. The deaths of prisoners due to the negligence of officials in providing medical services and violating their right to treatment have been reported before. For instance, in recent months, a regular prisoner in Qarchak prison, which is designated for women, died after the prison doctor refused to treat her, claiming she was 'faking.' Furthermore, according to previous reports, Saeed Zadeh-Raieit was serving an 11-year sentence despite suffering from advanced throat cancer and having spent seven years of his imprisonment, while the prison organization refused to cover his medical expenses, citing 'lack of budget.' Based on existing documentation and eyewitness statements, 'Saeed Zadeh-Raieit, son of Ghasem,' was approximately 50 years old and was in Unit Four, Block 22 of Qazalhessar prison at the time of the previous report in late Azar 1403 (December 2024). This informed source also mentioned that after the previous report by Voice of America regarding the violation of prisoners' right to treatment and the prison organization's attempt to obtain 'waiver forms for treatment refusal' from prisoners, and referring to Saeed Zadeh-Raieit's condition, Qazalhessar prison officials began to 'take this seriously' and 'initiated some medical care,' but given the progression of the disease, 'these actions were too late' and 'the surgery had been delayed so much' that the prisoner lost his life. This informed source had previously stated that 'the prison organization places the burden of prisoners' medical expenses, especially regular ones, on the prisoners themselves under the pretext of lack of budget, and if they do not pay for their treatment, they obtain waiver forms from sick and helpless prisoners.' According to an eyewitness, 'the violation of the right to treatment, the right to life, and human rights violations in the prisons of the Islamic Republic are rampant.' Voice of America has previously reported on the forced collection of 'treatment refusal waiver forms' from Qazalhessar prisoners. The Persian section of Voice of America had previously attempted to contact Qazalhessar prison officials for clarification but received no response. Voice of America has received prior reports of human rights violations in Qazalhessar prison in Alborz province, but due to existing restrictions on the presence of free media in Iran and the lack of accountability from Islamic Republic officials, it is not possible to verify and obtain further details about these reports. In addition to the violation of prisoners' right to treatment in general wards in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, personal accounts from some political prisoners indicate a systematic and deliberate process of making them ill, which Voice of America has previously detailed in a report. In recent weeks, Anvar Chaleshi, a political prisoner from Urmia who had long been denied treatment despite suffering from advanced cancer, died after being released due to his inability to endure the punishment. Saeed Laghai, after several years of collaboration with various newspapers, became a reporter and then parliamentary and economic editor of ISNA in 1999. He has focused on issues related to Iran and human rights since 2006 and joined the Persian section of Voice of America in spring 2021.