Zeinab Jalalian being denied access to medical care

Kurdish political prisoner Zeinab Jalalian, who has been held in Yazd Central Prison for 17 years, has been denied access to medical care, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Wednesday.

News Center- The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported Wednesday that Iran rejected the request of Kurdish political prisoner Zeinab Jalalian to be transferred to external medical facilities for specialized tests.

“Kurdish political prisoner Zeinab Jalalian has been transferred to the prison infirmary in recent weeks due to severe pain in her right side. Despite being examined by a general practitioner, she was returned to her ward without any specialized medical examinations or definitive treatment,” the KHRN said.

“After being transferred to the prison infirmary, a general practitioner only performed a basic examination, and her request to be transferred to external medical facilities for specialized tests was rejected by the Ministry of Intelligence.”

Zeinab Jalalian has been denied access to medical care although she suffers from many health problems such as oral thrush, pterygium, asthma, and kidney and gastrointestinal issues.

She asked to sign ‘letter of repentance’

A team of Ministry of Intelligence interrogators met with Zeinab Jalalian twice in the security office of Yazd Central Prison in June and asked her to sign a “letter of repentance” prepared by the Ministry of Intelligence, the KHRN said. “The security officers told her that if she signed the letter, her medical treatment and even her conditional release would be swiftly considered.”

Kurdish activist Zainab Jalalian is the first female political prisoner with a life sentence in Iran.