Country: Iran
ICHR strongly condemns the Iranian Government for tortures and other ill-treatments, including denial of medical care for Hossein Sepanta and we strongly call to ensure his safety and to immediately take action for his medical treatments outside the prison as he is not able to receive the specialist care he needs in the prison.
Hossein Sepanta is imprisoned in Adelabad prison in Shiraz, Fars province, and he is critically ill and in need of constant specialized medical care and daily caregiving for a rare progressive disorder in his spinal cord (syringomyelia), which he cannot receive in prison.
His disorder, which is the result of all the ill-treatment and tortures that was upon him
since his imprisonment in June 2014. Today he is experiencing severe chronic pain, numbness, loss of coordination, impaired movement, swallowing difficulties, and bowl and bladder control issues.
He frequently wakes up at night screaming from pain. This situation has taken a toll on him and his jail mates mental health. His inability to control bowl movements has also been a source of mental stress for him and his cell mates.
In June 2017, the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran, a state institute tasked with producing medical evidence for use in the legal system, stated that Hossein Sepanta “can only withstand prison if he is held in sanitary conditions; provided with walking aids, assistance and caregiving with daily activities involving standing on one’s feet; and regularly monitored by a specialist.”
Regardless of the advice of the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran, he is still being held in overcrowded unsanitary conditions, and mean while his cellmates have taken the responsibilities of the professional caregivers, and they move him around and assist him with washing, and other personal care routines.
Due to the fact that his jail mates are not professional caregivers, their care has led to falls, and resulting in injuries. And still the authorities have rejected his repeated requests to be transferred to a hospital outside prison.
Hossein takes dozens of powerful painkillers every week, purchased at his family’s expense. Sometimes, his access to pain treatment is restricted or delayed as officials withhold his medication with no declared reason or claim, and most times there are no staff available in the prison clinic to administer injections.
In 2019, he was reportedly visited in prison by a number of medical specialists who warned that his spinal mobility had been reduced by 60 percent, and his continued imprisonment was placing him at risk of total paralysis.
Hossein Sepanta is serving a 10-year prison sentence imposed in connection with his alleged association with Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e Iran, a banned group which advocates the restoration of an Iranian monarchy.
Under international law and standards, anyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence. This includes the right to meet one’s lawyer in private from the moment of arrest and both during the pre-trial and trial phase, and prompt access to all evidentiary materials that the prosecution plans to present in court against the accused person.
Torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited under international law. States must conduct independent investigations into all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure that victims have access to effective reparation, including rehabilitation. Denying a prisoner access to healthcare and medications may amount to torture.
ICHR strongly condemns the Iranian Government for tortures and other ill-treatments, including denial of medical care for Hossein Sepanta and we strongly call to ensure his safety and to immediately take action for his medical treatments outside the prison as he is not able to receive the specialist care he needs in the prison.