Former political prisoner Kaveh Ahmadzadeh dies after denial of medical care in Bukan Prison

Hengaw – Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Kaveh Ahmadzadeh, a former political prisoner from Bukan, has died in Bukan Central Prison after authorities denied him access to the urgent medical treatment. He had been detained in recent months on financial-related charges.

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Ahmadzadeh — a 54-year-old resident of Bukan and father of one — died on Sunday, December 7, 2025, after contracting influenza inside the prison and being deprived of adequate medical care.

Sources told Hengaw that Ahmadzadeh had first been taken to the prison infirmary the previous week due to worsening flu symptoms. Despite the clear deterioration of his condition, prison authorities refused to transfer him to a medical facility outside the prison.

On Saturday, December 6, as his condition became critical, he was again taken to the infirmary, where he received intravenous fluids before being returned to his ward. He died the following day.

Ahmadzadeh had been serving a six-month prison term and was required to pay a fine as part of a financial case.

A former political prisoner from the 1980s, Ahmadzadeh had been arrested multiple times on political charges. He was previously detained in 2008 and 2013, serving a total of approximately six years in Bukan Central Prison on allegations of “acting against national security through membership in the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK)".