Lawyer Expresses Concern Over Several Political Prisoners Contracting 'Autoimmune Disease' After Release

Sasan Chamranara's lawyer, a former political prisoner and artist, states that his client has been suffering from a type of autoimmune disease (psoriasis) since his release from prison. Psoriasis is a chronic condition where the immune system is overactive, causing skin cells to multiply unusually fast. Treatment for this disease takes a long time. Maryam Kian-Arthi, a lawyer, wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, June 1, that the recurrence of such diseases among political prisoners raises questions and concerns within civil society. Mr. Chamranara, who has a history of multiple arrests by security agencies, was last detained in December of last year on charges of 'propaganda against the regime in favor of opposition groups' and was released after a while. Last month, Ms. Kian-Arthi also wrote that her other client, Mostafa Al-Ahmad, a filmmaker, 'like some other activists, has been suffering from a type of autoimmune disease since his release from prison.' In this context, Sina Yousofi, a human rights lawyer, also referred to the death of Maryam Arvin, a lawyer, one month after her release from prison, writing on X that 'Maryam's mother stated that she was connected to an IV in prison under the pretext of sedatives and painkillers, and the cause of death was drug poisoning.' Maryam Arvin was arrested during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests in December 2022 and died two months after her release from prison. The lawyer for Taraneh Alidoosti, a prominent actress, also announced last month that after reports of her contracting an 'unknown' illness, doctors attributed her condition to 'a drug interaction.' Zahra Minoui, a lawyer, announced on May 25 that Ms. Alidoosti has been suffering from 'DRESS syndrome' since August 2023, and 'doctors have diagnosed it as a drug interaction.' Taraneh Alidoosti was briefly detained for supporting nationwide protests in 2022 and has been 'banned from work' by the Ministry of Culture for refusing to comply with mandatory hijab laws.