Kurdish political prisoner Vahid Chavaran denied medical care, family visits in Zahedan prison

Hengaw – Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Vahid Chavaran, a Kurdish political prisoner from Abdanan in Ilam province who is serving a 12-year internal exile sentence in Zahedan Central Prison, has been denied urgent medical treatment and family visits despite suffering from a serious eye condition.

According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Chavaran is suffering from an acute eye disease and faces a serious risk of losing his eyesight because prison authorities have refused to transfer him to outside medical facilities.

Doctors had previously stressed the urgent need for specialized treatment, but no action has been taken.

A source close to the prisoner’s family told Hengaw that, in addition to being denied medical care, Chavaran has also been deprived of family visits.

The long distance between Ilam and Zahedan, combined with obstruction by prison officials, has effectively prevented in-person contact between Chavaran and his family, the source said.

Chavaran was transferred from Ilam Central Prison to Zahedan Central Prison on May 4, 2025, to begin serving his 12-year sentence in internal exile.

He had been sentenced in January 2024 by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Ilam on charges including “participation in moharebeh,” “disrupting public order,” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”

He was arrested on June 23, 2023, while attempting to leave the border area and was later transferred from an Intelligence Ministry detention center in Ilam to Ilam Central Prison.

While expressing deep concern over the health condition of Vahid Chavaran, Hengaw considers the denial of medical services to a prisoner a clear example of torture. The organization calls for an end to the unlawful restrictions, his immediate transfer to a hospital, and the facilitation of family visitation rights.