The Iranian authorities are committing shocking violations of the right to life by deliberately denying ailing prisoners lifesaving healthcare. The deadly cruelty has involved both blocking or delaying prisoners’ access to emergency hospitalization, and denying prisoners access to adequate healthcare throughout their imprisonment, which leads to worsening health problems, inflicts additional pain and suffering on sick prisoners, and ultimately results in preventable loss of life.
These violations of the right to life stem from an institutional culture in Iran’s prisons which has little regard for sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of prisoners and are facilitated by unchecked powers granted to prison officials, amid a culture of impunity for torture and other ill-treatment and other violations against prisoners.
Consistent with entrenched patterns of systematic impunity, the Iranian authorities have refused to conduct any effective, prompt, thorough, transparent and independent investigations into deaths in custody following reports of deliberate and unlawful denial of medical care, let alone ensure that those responsible are prosecuted and punished.
Building on its long-term findings on deliberate denial of access to adequate healthcare in Iran’s prisons, Amnesty International has examined the circumstances surrounding the death in custody of 92 men and four women across Iran since January 2010, as documented by the organization or reported by independent human rights groups.
The 96 cases reviewed are illustrative, rather than exhaustive since the true number of deaths in custody is likely far higher. This is because human rights violations in Iran often go unreported due to well-founded fears of reprisals.
The list of cases excludes deaths in custody involving credible reports of physical torture or the lethal use of firearms, which Amnesty International addressed in a separate output in September 2021.
Deadly Denial of Medical Care in Iran’s Prisons
Source: Global Pinoys PH
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