Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
HRW – Mehdi Gholian, the brother of imprisoned labor activist Sepideh Gholian, posted on his Instagram account on March 6, 2022, that despite his sister’s worsening health condition amid contracting Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the last outbreak at Evin prison, authorities are refusing to process her temporary medical release.
He explained that the multiple relocations, hunger strikes, and the toll of imprisonment have weakened Sepideh’s body, in addition to the number of underlying medical conditions that the authorities have neglected to treat. Authorities first arrested Sepideh Gholian in November 2018 for participation in peaceful protests but she was released the next month on bail. After she spoke about being tortured in detention, she was arrested again in January 2019 and eventually sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges based off her peaceful activism. Sepideh was temporary released due to Covid-19 outbreaks, but according to her, authorities re-arrested her in July 2020 due to her insistence of innocence and refusal to request clemency. Since her return to prison, she has been moved twice; from Evin Prison in Tehran to Bushehr Prison (350km away from her family) in March 2021 and was returned to Evin in October 2021.
Iranian authorities continue to endanger the lives of activists and rights defenders by continuing to imprison them and denying them access to immediate and sufficient medical care. Just two months ago, Baktash Abtin died from complications of Covid-19 after the authorities delayed his access to medical attention.
