Raheleh Rahimipour, prisoner with brain tumor, is 'deprived of treatment' due to refusal to accept mandatory hijab

Raheleh Rahimipour, a civil rights activist imprisoned in Evin, has been denied appropriate medical care and transfer to a hospital due to her refusal to wear the mandatory hijab, despite her poor physical condition. A source close to the family of this civil rights activist told the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, Hrana, that 'Ms. Rahimipour suffers from multiple physical ailments, including a brain tumor, and requires specialized treatment, but prison officials are preventing her transfer to medical facilities outside the prison due to her non-compliance with the mandatory hijab.' According to Hrana, Ms. Rahimipour has also recently been denied visits with her family. This civil rights activist spent two days in the hospital earlier this month due to her deteriorating health and was returned to Evin prison after a cardiac angiography. In this context, Sedigheh Vosoughi, a critic of the Islamic Republic and a fellow inmate of Ms. Rahimipour in Evin prison, expressed concern about her condition last Wednesday, stating that Ms. Rahimipour 'is suffering from a brain tumor and other illnesses.' In a post on her Instagram account, Ms. Vosoughi described the presence of 72-year-old Raheleh Rahimipour in the women's ward of Evin prison as 'one of the clear signs of the oppression of the judicial system of the Islamic Republic' and wrote that she 'is seeking justice for her brother who was executed in the 1980s.' According to Ms. Vosoughi, Raheleh Rahimipour 'has been sentenced to five years in prison, of which she has served five months so far.' In her Instagram post, Ms. Vosoughi added, 'When I see her suffering and ill at an age when she should be resting at home and being comforted due to the numerous sufferings imposed on her, moving from one side to the other in her cell and lying on the bed in pain, my heart aches.' She has called on 'domestic and international human rights organizations' to work for the release of Raheleh Rahimipour. Raheleh Rahimipour is one of the complainants regarding the executions of the 1980s who, prior to her arrest and imprisonment, was seeking the burial place of her brother. Hossein Rahimipour was arrested in 1983 along with his pregnant wife on charges of membership in political groups and was subsequently executed. Raheleh Rahimipour has also demanded that the authorities of the Islamic Republic explain the fate of her young nephew, Golroo, who was in prison at the time and later went missing. Golroo was born in prison in 1984 after his parents were arrested and was separated from his mother for medical care when he was 15 days old. Officials later stated that he had died, but they did not provide a death certificate or the location of his burial. Reports indicate that Raheleh Rahimipour was arrested at least twice between 2017 and 2018 and was tried in the Revolutionary Court on charges of propaganda against the regime. Amnesty International had previously issued a statement calling on the Iranian authorities to stop the harassment of Raheleh Rahimipour. Amnesty International's objection to the detention of 'Raheleh Rahimipour,' one of the complainants regarding the 1980s massacre, has been echoed by 20 human rights organizations calling for an end to the suppression of those pursuing justice for the 'massacres of the 1980s.'