Zeynab Jalalian's Treatment Halted Due to 'Obstruction' by Prison Officials

Zeynab Jalalian, a political prisoner serving her sentence in Yazd prison, is being denied proper and continuous medical care despite her poor physical condition due to obstruction by prison officials. According to the Harana news agency, the news outlet of human rights activists in Iran, Ms. Jalalian, who is imprisoned without adherence to the principle of separation of crimes, has been deprived of family visits for about three months. Harana reports, citing a source close to the family of this political prisoner, that despite suffering from kidney, gastrointestinal, and eye diseases, she has been denied medical treatment due to 'obstruction by prison officials,' who also refuse to provide her with the results of tests and imaging she previously underwent. Zeynab Jalalian, originally from Makoo, was arrested in 2007 and in 2009 was sentenced to one year of imprisonment for 'illegal exit from the country' and to death for 'moharebeh due to membership in opposition groups (PJAK).' Her death sentence was confirmed by the appellate court and the Supreme Court but was later commuted to life imprisonment. Jalalian has stated that during her detention, she was subjected to torture methods such as 'beating the soles of her feet, punches to the stomach, banging her head against the wall, and threats of rape.' In recent months, the treatment of political prisoners in Iran, especially female prisoners, has intensified. The authorities resort to punitive measures against protesting prisoners or those informing about prison conditions, including creating new cases, issuing additional prison sentences, transferring to solitary confinement, and depriving them of phone calls and family visits. The United States has repeatedly condemned the ongoing and systematic violations of the rights of prisoners and citizens in Iran by the Islamic Republic government. International human rights bodies, including UN rapporteurs, have consistently urged Iranian officials to end this trend. Hundreds of civil and labor activists have called for the immediate abolition of the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi.