Shler Mamqaderi, mother with cancer, held without treatment in Urmia prison

Hengaw – Saturday, April 25, 2026

 Three weeks after her arrest, Shler Mamqaderi, a Kurdish woman from Mahabad, remains detained in the quarantine ward of Urmia Central Prison. The denial of medical care to the mother of two, who had been undergoing cancer treatment, has placed her life at serious risk.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Mamqaderi, a resident of Mahabad and mother of two, has been held in the women’s quarantine ward of Urmia Central Prison since her arrest on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, without access to needed medical treatment.

In a brief phone call with her family, Mamqaderi informed them that she remains in detention.

Prior to her arrest, she had been undergoing a critical phase of cancer treatment. She has now spent 21 days in prison deprived of essential medication and specialist care.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights expresses grave concern over Mamqaderi’s condition and states that her continued detention, combined with the denial of treatment, amounts to systematic torture and a violation of her right to life.