Nasrin Sotudeh has gone on Hunger Strike To oppose harsh treatment of Political Prisoners in Iran
international@iranian-Republic.org
Ref: Deliberate Denial of Health Care to Political Prisoners in Iran
We, the Union for Secular Republic & Human Rights in Iran, write to you to raise concern over the treatment of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran has continued to threaten the health and safety of political prisoners, including very many human rights lawyers, such as Mrs. Nasrin Sotoudeh, in the country’s overcrowded and unhygienic prisons.
Recently leaked official letters have revealed that the Iranian government has ignored repeated pleas by senior officials, responsible for managing Iran’s prisons, for additional resources (including protective equipment, disinfectants, and basic essential medical equipment) to control the spread of the virus and treat infected prisoners.
There are widely available and reliable reports of prisoners who display COVID-19 symptoms being neglected for days, even when they have pre-existing heart and lung problems, diabetes or asthma. When their conditions worsen, many are merely quarantined in a separate section in the prison or placed in solitary confinement, without access to adequate health care.
The Iranian authorities deliberately deny health care to prisoners of conscience and others held in relation to politically-motivated cases, putting their lives and health at grave risk.
The latest report is that Mrs. Nasrin Sotoudeh has had to resort to hunger strike to protest against and to raise awareness of the unacceptable treatment of political prisoners in Iran.
Dear Friends,
Can we kindly ask you to please call on the Iranian authorities to urgently address overcrowding in prisons, including by immediately and unconditionally releasing all prisoners of conscience?
Yours sincerely
Mehdi Amini
International Relations Coordinator
