Exclusive; Personal Accounts of the Medicalization of Political Prisoners, a 'Deliberate Systematic Process' in the Islamic Republic

The illness of Taraneh Alidoosti, an actress supporting protesters, from a mysterious disease following her release from prison has once again raised the possibility of the medicalization of political prisoners by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. The following report shares the narratives of several eyewitnesses and survivors regarding this 'deliberate and systematic process.' In this report, Arash Sigarachi and Najat Bahrami, two former prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons, and an eyewitness to the death of a political prisoner in Isfahan in the 80s share their personal accounts for the first time with the Persian section of Voice of America. 'Drug interaction' is the term Zahra Minoui, Alidoosti's lawyer, has used to describe the cause of her client's illness; a term that doctors had also used to explain the death of Alireza Davoodi, after the release of this political prisoner in the late 80s. Following reports of this renowned actress's contraction of 'DRESS syndrome' and speculation about the connection between her illness and her temporary detention due to her human rights stance, Ms. Alidoosti's lawyer emphasized that 'doctors have diagnosed it as a drug interaction.' These speculations arose after several detainees from the nationwide protests of 1401, including Hilda Aghafazli, Maryam Arvin, lawyer of the judiciary, Arash Forouzandeh, filmmaker, Mohsen Jafari Rad, film critic, and Arshia Emamgholizadeh, a teenage protester, suspiciously died shortly after their temporary release. Arash Sigarachi's account of the preparation of 'poisoning equipment' for prisoners by intelligence agencies from Russia. Arash Sigarachi, a journalist working for the Persian section of Voice of America, is one of the individuals who was arrested in the mid-80s due to his job and sentenced to three years in prison. His personal account is one of the oral history cases of the medicalization of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons that he describes in this report. This journalist states that he visited the prison's medical clinic due to a toothache and had 'an injection for anesthesia,' and 'everything seemed normal,' but 'about a month later' he noticed 'a wound on the left side of his tongue.' Sigarachi explains that he was able to accidentally visit a doctor during a short leave and discover the depth of his illness. He elaborates: 'During the final football match of the prisoners, the supervising judge, who was among the guests, jokingly said, Sigarachi, if you score a goal today, I will give you a day off for each goal. By good fortune and cooperation from my teammates, I scored five goals, and the following week, when I was able to leave the prison for a day off, I visited an ENT specialist, who immediately wrote a biopsy, and the pathology result indicated a malignant tumor in my tongue.' This journalist states that 'three to four months of chemotherapy did not work,' and then he underwent a '9.5-hour surgery,' saying: 'More than two-thirds of my tongue and the lymph nodes on the left side of my neck were removed, and after that, radiotherapy and radiation began for further treatment.' Sigarachi emphasizes that 'when a prisoner faces illness, he must trust the half-baked system that exists there and the medical oath of the prison doctor,' and in explaining the medicalization of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic's prisons, he stresses, 'There is evidence and indications that show this is systematic.' This former political prisoner emphasizes that 'I would give any possibility to the Islamic Republic,' adding: 'During that time, my brother, who was following my case, was killed in a suspicious car accident, and then my cancer diagnosis occurred. One's mind inevitably turns to the hidden factors, especially when the intelligence interrogator, a person named Samadi, told me that if I did not listen to us, unfortunate events would happen. For example, I would say, do you want to kill me? He would say, not necessarily. You might go out on the street and a car might hit you.' He states that his doctors answered his questions about the possibility of medicalization in prison 'very conservatively,' emphasizing: 'The most prominent comment in this regard was made by Masallah Shamsolvaezin, the secretary of the Press Freedom Association, who came to visit me and said there, 'Unfortunately, the gentlemen in intelligence and security have obtained the necessary equipment for poisoning political opponents from their Russian brothers.' This was the expression that Shamsolvaezin used that night at our house.' Sigarachi also mentions that in conversations with others who have had similar experiences, he has concluded that 'at least 10 to 12 known figures' have experienced such events, referring to 'Alireza Rajai,' a journalist who had to 'have his eye removed due to cancer in prison,' and 'Ahmad Qabel,' a cleric critical of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, who likely suffered 'poisoning' after a visit 'to the dentist in prison and an injection.' Najat Bahrami: The forensic report on my 'brain injury' was hidden from me. Najat Bahrami, a journalist and another opponent of the Islamic Republic, was imprisoned in 1999, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with Voice of America, he emphasizes that at that time he suffered from 'high blood pressure accompanied by severe headaches and nausea' and shared this with the execution judge when summoned to serve his sentence. In addition to Najat Bahrami's statements, he has provided documents obtained from the judiciary by the hacking group 'Adalat Ali' to Voice of America, which are published for the first time. According to this document, the judiciary, despite being aware of Bahrami's 'brain injury,' concealed the issue from him and transferred him to prison. Bahrami's personal account of contracting COVID-19 in prison and his observations of the infection of Behtash Abtin, a writer and poet imprisoned with the COVID-19 virus, and his subsequent death, is noteworthy. He tells Voice of America: 'In 1999, Behtash Abtin and two members of the Writers' Association were brought to Ward 4 of Evin Prison. At that time, COVID-19 symptoms had appeared in me, and I was feeling very unwell, and my symptoms that year, when COVID was widespread, clearly indicated that precautions should be taken, but [the prison authorities] did not take it seriously. At that time, Behtash Abtin came, and I thought that with my physical condition, while it was clear to me that I had contracted COVID, how could they not take care of me at all or at least separate me from the others despite my and the other prisoners' requests?' Najat Bahrami adds: 'A couple of times, they insisted on taking me to the prison clinic, and they merely did a temperature check, and it was unclear whether their device was working properly or not, and they were doing the work carelessly and with a specific annoyance, telling me it was not COVID; but when my condition worsened, they transferred me to Taleghani Hospital, where they immediately diagnosed COVID, and after that, I was separated from other prisoners.' This journalist also describes: 'Someone who is infected with COVID and spends days and nights among other prisoners in crowded rooms in Evin will naturally infect the others, but they really do not take care. A few days after this issue, the news of Behtash Abtin's illness was published, and I could completely guess what had happened that led to his illness and that they did not pay attention. Both deliberately and due to the systemic chaos that they have in prison, unfortunately, cost him his life.' Najat Bahrami also discusses the judiciary's concealment of the 'brain injury' that was mentioned in the forensic report: 'For the first time, I saw these documents on the Adalat Ali website and checked my file, and it was shocking for me.' He adds: 'The year my sentence was issued, and I was supposed to be introduced to prison, I went and said I had been suffering from very severe headaches accompanied by nausea for some time, and I could not sleep at night, and I was in a dire situation, and I requested to complete my treatments and then go to prison, but the execution judge insisted that we would introduce you to the forensic doctor. I visited the neurologist they referred me to with the forensic letter and was told to go to the Evin prosecutor's office for the answer. There, I was told that according to the forensic report, you had no problem, and I went to prison.' He states that 'sometimes they would take me to the clinic and do incomplete checks,' and he questions these treatments, and 'recently in the Adalat Ali documents, I saw that the forensic report mentioned the existence of a brain injury.' Najat Bahrami adds: 'It was completely clear to them, but despite the knowledge of the judicial and security authorities, they did not tell me and sent me to prison at a time when COVID was at its peak, and then when I contracted COVID, they allowed me to come out, and I now realize that this permission was due to the information they had from my medical file, and this shows how easily they play with people's lives.' Evidence related to Najat Bahrami's medical file. This journalist and former political prisoner emphasizes: 'The Islamic Republic uses two deliberate methods to pressure political and journalistic figures. One is the issue of medicalization, especially in those years when serial killings were taking place, and in the 60s, there are many cases where they deliberately made people ill, and it is not hidden. In recent years, they have been somewhat cautious due to the media and public opinion, but in a completely deliberate disregard for prisoners whose lives are at risk, they are advancing their work through this method.' Najat Bahrami points to the health condition of Fatemeh Sepahri, a political prisoner opposing the Islamic Republic, and her continued imprisonment under non-standard conditions in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, emphasizing that she was 'immediately returned to prison after undergoing open-heart surgery' and while 'she should have been under strict and special care at home or in the hospital for months.' This journalist emphasizes that 'a process accompanied by deliberate negligence, indifference, and buying time for the sick prisoner to suffer' is ongoing in the Islamic Republic's prisons. Najat Bahrami adds: 'In my opinion, this is a completely systematic and deliberate process designed within the security layers of the government.' An eyewitness account of 'drug torture' leading to the death of Alireza Davoodi. An eyewitness in Iran, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, explained in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America about the death of a political prisoner identified as Alireza Davoodi, born in 62, residing in Shahinshahr, a student of accounting, shortly after his temporary release from prison and immediately after 'interrogation in the hospital by two agents.' The informed individual describes Alireza Davoodi as 'a calm and composed person' who was 'articulate' and 'thoughtful' and was suspended from the University of Isfahan for several terms in the mid-80s due to his positions and speeches, as well as founding the student group 'DAB' (Freedom-Seeking and Equality-Seeking Students) and publishing the student journal 'Khak.' He states that Alireza Davoodi had been summoned multiple times to the 'Ministry of Intelligence News Headquarters' since 84, but his main arrest occurred in Bahman 1387, and for more than a month, his family had no news of him until he was released in late Ordibehesht 88. This eyewitness also states that he, along with several other friends, managed to meet Alireza Davoodi after two weeks of follow-up and observed signs of torture on his hands, including 'burns, bruises, and ruptured veins' and 'crushed hands,' and noted that contrary to his 'strong personality and warm demeanor' before, Alireza 'was completely another person' and 'seemed to have no spirit.' The eyewitness also emphasizes that they visited Alireza Davoodi for a short time 'in his room,' and then his family outside that room told the visitors that 'Alireza is under treatment, he is very nervous after his release and does not say what happened' and 'he says he does not remember what happened during his detention and how those months passed.' According to this source, 'In the examinations that were conducted, the doctors said many of his veins were burned, and it is unclear what happened to him,' and 'later his family said there were other places on his body as well.' This source close to Alireza Davoodi also emphasizes that the last time he accidentally saw this student activist was in Khordad 1388 during the protests following the 88 elections, and he seemed to be in much better spirits, but 'later I learned that he had been identified during that demonstration and the next day was summoned again to the Ministry of Intelligence News Headquarters.' According to this source, after this summons, 'his mental health deteriorated again,' and 'Alireza said he remembered being hung from the ceiling for three or four days during his previous detention.' This source close to the deceased activist emphasized that in 'late Tir 88,' this student activist was hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan for two to three weeks, and 'in Mordad, his condition was improving, and he said he wanted to resume his activities,' but 'on the last day, while there was no family member accompanying him, the hospital claimed that Alireza was experiencing a drug interaction, and while they wanted to transfer him to the Khorshid Hospital specialized in drug poisonings, he had a stroke in the ambulance.' The grave of Alireza Davoodi, the student activist who died after being released from prison. A source close to this deceased prisoner emphasizes that 'this is the official narrative,' stating that in an unofficial account, after Alireza Davoodi's fortieth memorial, 'one of the nurses at the hospital told his family that on the day this incident occurred, two individuals from the intelligence organization entered Alireza's room and interrogated him for about half an hour, and an hour and a half to two hours later, he had a stroke.