{"id":829,"date":"2015-09-16T18:56:28","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T18:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=829"},"modified":"2015-09-16T18:56:28","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T18:56:28","slug":"imprisoned-labor-activist-dies-of-stroke-after-being-denied-medical-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=829","title":{"rendered":"Imprisoned Labor Activist Dies of Stroke after Being Denied Medical Care"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Labor activist Shahrokh Zamani<\/p><\/div>\n

Authorities Routinely Refuse Medical Treatment to Political Prisoners<\/strong>
\nSeptember 16, 2015 – Labor activist Shahrokh Zamani died of a stroke on September 13, 2015, at Rajaee Shahr Prison in the Iranian city of Karaj, days after prison authorities refused him medical treatment.<\/p>\n

Zamani had repeatedly gone to the prison infirmary during the previous days, reporting severe chest pains and requesting treatment at hospital, but his\u00a0request was denied, a journalist in Tehran told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
\n\u201cFor too long, the authorities have gotten away with blatantly denying medical care to political prisoners,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. \u201cPrisoners perish and no one is held responsible; how many more must die?\u201d
\n\u201cThree, four days before Shahrokh [Zamani]\u2019s death, he had chest pains and he felt pain in parts of his body. He went to the prison clinic several times but there weren\u2019t any specialist doctors on those days and the general physician was not able to diagnose the problem. Mr. Zamani asked to be sent to the hospital several times but they did not transfer him,\u201d Ahmadi Amouee stated.
\nBahman Ahmadi Amouee, a prominent Iranian journalist who himself finished a five-year prison sentence in October 2014 for writing articles critical of the government, added that according to information he received from another prisoner at Rajaee Shahr, a specialist physician had arrived that morning to visit Zamani but his cellmates saw he was already dead.
\n\u201cThey noticed that his body had turned black and blood had come out of his nose. His left hand was in a fist. His cellmates took him to the prison infirmary and it became apparent he had suffered a stroke,\u201d Ahmadi Amouee said.
\nAhmadi Amouee recalled that during the time he shared a cell with Zamani at Rajaee Shahr Prison, \u201che was one of the healthiest prisoners. He ran every morning for an hour in the prison courtyard. He took showers every day and read books until late at night. He was a healthy person.\u201d
\n\u201cZamani is only the latest victim,\u201d said Ghaemi. \u201cUnless there is an end to the systematic practice of denying medical care to political prisoners, more will fall.\u201d
\nPrison authorities in Iran routinely refuse to provide critically needed medical attention to political prisoners, who receive harsher treatment than other inmates.
\nBahman Ahmadi Amouee told the Campaign that Zamani\u2019s death was the seventh death of a political prisoner at Evin and Rajaee Shahr Prisons since 2010. The others were Hamid Ghasemi, Hoda Saber, Mohsen Dogmechi, Alireza Karami Kheyrabadi, Afshin Osanloo, and Mansour Radpour. \u201cThey died because of various illnesses and lack of treatment and attention by the authorities,\u201d he said.
\nAhmadi Amouee added that there are a number of elderly political prisoners held at Rajaee Shahr Prison \u201cwho could fall into a dangerous situation at any time\u201d if they did not receive immediate medical attention by medical specialists outside the prison. They include Atif Naimi, Amanollah Mostaghim, Foad Moghaddam, and Jamalledin Khanjani. Saeed Razavi Faghih\u00a0and Ramazan Ahmad Kamal, two additional prisoners denied medical care, are currently on hunger strike because their requests to be transferred to hospital were denied.
\n\u201cThese individuals were not given death sentences, but denying critically ill prisoners access to medical care is effectively marching them towards their deaths,\u201d said Ghaemi.
\nShahrokh Zamani, 51 at the time of his death, was a labor activist who worked as a house painter. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2011 by the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz for \u201cacting against national security by attempting to form house painters\u2019 union\u201d and \u201cpropaganda against the state.\u201d
\nLabor unions are prevented from operating independently in Iran and labor leaders are systematically arrested, prosecuted under national security charges, and sentenced to long prison terms.
\nLike most other political prisoners, Zamani received harsh treatment in areas beyond the denial of medical care. He was never allowed prison leave, even though such furlough is typically provided to inmates in Iran, and was refused permission to attend his mother\u2019s funeral and his daughter\u2019s wedding. He was also not permitted in-person visits with family, which is the right of every inmate.
\nIn 2014, Zamani wrote a letter\u00a0to U.N. Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed complaining about his mistreatment. \u201cThe Supreme Court clerk who reviewed my case said [there was] not a single legal argument that a judge could have relied on in my file to [support] a conviction. My wife was told there\u2019s no point in trying to get justice for my case at the Islamic Human Rights office, and that the decision-makers are elsewhere,\u201d he wrote.
\nIn his March 2015 report, the U.N.\u2019s Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran noted with concern \u201creports of insufficient or nonexistent access to medical services for detainees,\u201d adding that \u201cBetween April and December 2014, the [UN received] five communications concerning the deteriorating health conditions of 16 detainees in urgent need of specialized medical care outside prison. Some of these individuals were reportedly at risk of dying due to inadequate medical attention.\u201d
\nThe denial of medical care for prisoners directly violates Iranian law. Article 43\u00a0of the Iranian constitution requires \u201cthe provision of basic necessities for all citizens,\u201d specifically referencing \u201cmedical treatment.\u201d
\nThe U.N. stipulates in its Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners\u00a0that \u201cSick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow the\u00a0Campaign on Facebook and Twitter
\nFor the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign\u2019s website
\nFor interviews, contact:
\nHadi Ghaemi at +1-917-669-5996, hadighaemi@iranhumanrights.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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