Activist in Critical Condition in Tehran Prison as Medical Care Denied

Raheleh Rahemipour, a civil rights activist imprisoned in Tehran's Evin prison, is in critical condition after being denied access to specialized medical care for a brain tumor and other serious illnesses, an activist group reported. 

According to a close family source who spoke to the HRANA human rights news agency, the reason for the medical care denial is Rahemipour's refusal to wear a hijab.

Rahemipour, in her 70s, has also been restricted from family visits, further isolating her during this critical time. 

In January, a brief hospitalization for a cardiac procedure offered her a temporary reprieve, but she was abruptly returned to prison just two days later.

Rahemipour's ordeal began in November 2019 when she was arrested alongside Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi in Tehran.

She had been prosecuted for speaking out against the extrajudicial execution of her brother in 1983.

Initially held in Ward 2-A of Evin prison, a section controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), she was later released on bail. 

However, charges of "assembly and collusion against national security" and "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" resulted in a six-year prison sentence handed down to her by the Tehran Revolutionary Court in November 2023.