Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iranwire – Jamshid Arbabi Gorgij officially died of “cardiac arrest” early this month while in custody, but his delayed transfer to a hospital in the southeastern city of Zahedan is believed to have played a significant role in the untimely demise of this young man.
According to a source close to the family, Gorgij was the father of three children aged five, seven, and 10.
The family resided in Shir Abad, a Baluch-populated and marginalized neighborhood of Zahedan.
According to the source and social media posts by Gorgij’s relatives, he underwent a “religious conversion” a few years ago and actively participated in religious gatherings and congregational prayers led by Molavi Abdulhamid, the Sunni prayer leader of Zahedan.
Photographs showing Gorgij alongside Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric have been made public.
The IranWire source, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that Gorgij was arrested in July 2022 after “a fight with a military officer.”
He died in custody six months before the end of his prison term.
Gorgij had no history of heart problems, and the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of his health in prison remain unclear.
On January 2, fellow inmates “noticed that he wasn’t breathing and took him to the corridor,” the source said.
“Despite their urgent pleas, prison guards delayed his transfer to the hospital for several hours.”
Prison authorities routinely deny or delay medical assistance to inmates, with sometimes fatal consequences.
Baktash Abtin, a poet and member of the Iranian Writers Association, died in January 2022 after contracting COVID-19 in prison.
He had fallen into a coma after prison authorities withheld his transfer to hospital for several days.
More recently, Navid Mihandoost, a filmmaker incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison, disclosed the death of a fellow inmate due to delayed treatment and hospitalization.
