Iranian political prisoner, Akbar Bagheri in critical condition denied medical attention

Akbar Bagheri is a political prisoner that is being detained in Iran under very difficult conditions. He urgently requires medical attention which is cruelly being denied to him.

Akbar Bagheri is a supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK) – the main opposition to the Iranian regime – and has been in contact with authorities a number of times over the years. In 2017, suppressive security forces barged into his home, raided it and detained him. He spent two months being interrogated under atrocious conditions and was then moved to Diesel Abad Prison in the city of Kermanshah in the western part of the country.

He was detained there for a short while and was released on bail temporarily. However, while on temporary bail, he was arrested again in front of the regime’s parliament building. He was arrested on 21st February 2018. The protests were about the Caspian credit firm that was linked to the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and subject to a massive corruption scheme in which many people lost life savings.

He was subsequently put into solitary confinement in Evin Prison. Bagheri stayed there for 48 days and was then moved to Ward 4. Several months later he was sentenced to nine years in prison by branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

Last year he was transferred, without warning and without explanation, from Evin Prison to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary. He went on a hunger strike that lasted five days in May last year, not just to protest his sudden transfer to another prison, but also to highlight the lack of medical attention that he has been given.

The Greater Tehran Penitentiary is notorious for the mistreatment of prisoners and it is where very violent criminals are sent to in order to carry out their sentence.

His health has been deteriorating over the past few months and the situation has reached a very critical stage. Before being transferred, doctors at Evin Prison has assessed his health and come to the conclusion that he should have surgery in the not too distant future. He should have had surgery scheduled to take place at a hospital.

Bagheri has a number of medical conditions including liver and kidney problems, intestinal issues, skin problems and anaemia.

Bagheri has grown very weak to such an extent that he cannot even support his own body weight while standing.

It has been reported that he passed out on Sunday 19th January because of his anaemia and the increasing pain that he is dealing with. He went to the prison medic who concluded his anaemia is preventing blood from reaching his heart. Despite the serious prognosis, he was only allowed serum which has obviously had no impact. He went back to his cell and his family and lawyers have said that he is still being denied medical treatment.

This is just the case of one political prisoner. There are many more shocking stories like this of prisoners across the country.