One of the common methods of torture against political prisoners in the Islamic Republic is “medical torture.” Medical torture is one of the regime’s policies that constitutes a blatant violation of the right to access proper medication and treatment. It serves as a form of white torture against the prisoner and their families, and it silently results in the political prisoner’s execution.
Prison authorities hold the medication of prisoners hostage. This is a deliberate policy to intimidate the prisoner and sometimes extract forced confessions. Furthermore, in necessary cases, even with a doctor’s prescription for a prisoner’s specific treatment outside the prison, they consciously prevent the prisoner from receiving treatment.
The transfer of a prisoner to a hospital, accompanied by prison attire and wearing handcuffs and leg restraints, along with being restrained to the hospital bed during the treatment, is another form of white torture against the prisoner.
Just today, we can cite the numerous
problems faced by imprisoned teacher
“Ismaeil Abdi,” such as chronic pain and
sleep disorders in both of his hands due
to years of imprisonment, lack of proper
medical treatment, and the refusal to
transfer “Reza Shahabi,” a member of
the Workers’ Union of the United Bus
Company, to the hospital for the second
time due to his opposition to wearing
prison attire during the transfer and
being restrained with handcuffs and leg
restraints. We must also mention
“Hossein Hosseinpour,” who, during the
Woman Life Freedom revolution
has been injured and
suffered from injuries to both of his eyes
from rubber bullet shots by the agents
of the Islamic Republic and is now
confined to a hospital bed.
The Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners once again holds the Islamic Republic directly responsible for the security, health, and lives of political prisoners and condemns the deprivation of medication and the use of psychotropic drugs as a blatant violation of the rights of political prisoners, naming it “medical torture.”
We call on all noble and free people, institutions, unions, organizations, and parties defending freedom to join this campaign against medical torture in any way they can in their living areas and demand the unconditional freedom of all political prisoners.
Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners
October 19, 2023