Iranian Authorities Obstruct Medical Care for Baha’i Activist Valiollah Ghadamian
Hengaw; Thursday, October 3, 2024
Valiollah Ghadamian, a Baha’i prisoner currently serving his sentence in Evin Prison, is in critical health condition. Despite the severity of his illness, authorities are obstructing his access to necessary medical treatment, leaving him without proper care. Ghadamian, who has been detained for 17 months, continues to be deprived of his right to medical leave.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, 67-year-old Valiollah Ghadamian, a Baha’i resident of Tehran, is serving a two-year sentence in Evin Prison and suffers from a severe lung condition that requires immediate medical attention.
A source close to Ghadamian’s family reported that he was scheduled to be transferred to a hospital on Monday, September 30, 2024, but the transfer was delayed by a day due to administrative negligence.
The source further explained that when Ghadamian was eventually taken to the hospital in handcuffs and shackles, he was returned to prison without receiving the necessary consultation with a lung specialist. Instead, he was seen by an internal medicine doctor, and further examination of his condition was postponed.
On Wednesday, Ghadamian was again denied proper treatment as the required anesthesia for a bronchoscopy and consultation with a cardiologist were unavailable. As a result, he was sent back to prison without receiving the care he urgently needs.
It is worth noting that Ghadamian was initially sentenced to five years in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on charges of “membership in illegal groups and organizations.” His sentence was later reduced to two years by the Tehran Court of Appeals in mid-October last year.
Ghadamian was arrested on May 1, 2023, for assisting with the burial of deceased Baha’i individuals in a Baha’i cemetery in Tehran. Despite his deteriorating health, he has been consistently denied medical leave since his detention.
