OHCHR (GENEVA) – United Nations human rights experts* today expressed their dismay that Iran continues to deny human rights defender Narges Mohammadi and other detainees access to timely and adequate health care, despite repeated calls.
“We have expressed to the Iranian government our deep concerns regarding the physical and mental integrity of Narges Mohammadi,” the experts said. “Once again, we call on the Iranian authorities to release her immediately and to ensure that she and other detainees have access to comprehensive medical care without delay.”
For the past eight months, Ms Narges Mohammadi has suffered from acute back and knee pain, including a herniated disc, according to medical experts and MRI and CT scans.
On August 6, 2024, Narges Mohammadi was allegedly physically assaulted in an incident in the women’s ward of Evin Prison. She reportedly lost consciousness and sustained injuries to her ribcage and other parts of her body. Mohammadi requested access to her lawyer to file a complaint for physical assault, as well as a forensic medical examination of her injuries. Both requests were reportedly denied by Evin Prison authorities.
“The denial of medical care appears to be used to punish and silence Narges Mohammadi inside prison. These reports raise serious concerns about her right to health and physical well-being,” the experts said.
“The health of prisoners, as well as the obligation not to expose a prisoner to ill-treatment, is the responsibility of the State,” they said, recalling that the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). “Prisoners have the right to health care equivalent to that available in the community and must have prompt access to medical care in cases of emergency,” the experts said.
They highlighted a pattern of ill-treatment of Iranian detainees, including lack of access to adequate medical treatment. “These deprivations may amount to torture and inhuman treatment, which constitute an absolute right without exception or derogation, and a jus cogens norm of international human rights law,” they said.
“We are also concerned about the fate of Fatemeh Sepehri, Mahmoud Mehrabi, Davood Razavi, Hasan Saeedi and Reza Shahabi Zakaria, who have been denied access to adequate health care, despite tests and medical reports indicating the urgency of their cases,” the experts said.
“We reiterate our calls for the immediate release of human rights defenders and all other people arbitrarily detained in Iranian detention centers.
* The experts: Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; and Matthew Gillett (Chair-Rapporteur), Priya Gopalan (Vice-Chair for Monitoring), Miriam Estrada-Castillo, and Mumba Malila, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Special rapporteurs and working groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest group of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and work in their individual capacity.
