rferl.org – Imprisoned Islamic scholar and civil rights activist Sedigheh Vasmaghi has been transferred from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison to a hospital after reports surfaced that authorities were preventing the move, despite doctors’ advice.
Sources told Radio Farda that Vasmaghi was taken to the Taleghani hospital late on April 3 with symptoms of chest pain, heart palpitations, and high blood pressure.
Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who is also currently imprisoned in Iran, said earlier on April 3 that Vasmaghi’s health had worsened since a violent raid on her home last month.
Medical experts had urgently recommended hospital care for Vasmaghi due to severe visual impairment and her struggle with the conditions of imprisonment.
The sources did not say why officials had relented and finally allowed Vasmaghi to be transferred.
Last week, authorities refused to allow Vasmaghi family visitation rights, citing her refusal to adhere to Iran’s mandatory hijab regulation.
Vasmaghi, arrested at her home on March 16, faces charges of “propaganda against the system in cyberspace” and “public appearances without Shari’a-compliant hijab.”
Mohammadi herself has been convicted five times since March 2021 —
three times for activism carried out while she was in prison — and has
been sentenced to over 12 years in prison during that period.
Though she wore a head scarf for years, Vasmaghi has openly opposed the
Islamic republic’s hijab law, posting pictures and messages on social
media condemning the government’s crackdown on offenses related to the
hijab and its repression of women, as well as appearing in public
without the head scarf.
Vasmaghi also has been highly critical of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, calling him a dictator and slamming the country’s “oppressive”
leadership.
The death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022 after her
arrest for allegedly improperly wearing her head scarf led to months of
nationwide protests that thrust women’s rights and public disapproval of
the hijab law to the forefront.
Iranian authorities responded by carrying out a violent crackdown that
resulted in the deaths of over 500 protesters. They also implemented a
stricter hijab law with harsher penalties and longer prison sentences
for those who disobey it.
The fact-finding committee of the UN Human Rights Council labeled these
government actions against women as a crime against humanity.