Motalleb Ahmadian, a Kurdish political prisoner serving a 30-year sentence, is in a critical health condition after consistently being denied access to life-saving medication at the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

Ahmadian, who suffers from duodenal cancer, diaphragmatic hernia, spinal canal stenosis, and a urinary tract infection, was transferred to the prison following the Israeli bombing of Evin Prison on 23 June.

Despite having prescriptions from a medical specialist and formal approval from Evin Prison’s infirmary, prison authorities in Tehran have refused to deliver medication provided by an external pharmacy.

His family has attempted to deliver the necessary drugs on at least four occasions, but these attempts were all blocked by prison officials.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, he has lost more than 35 kilograms due to a lack of specialised treatment and is unable to eat.

The prison’s own medical officer has confirmed the urgency of his condition and emphasised the need for immediate treatment, but claims to have no knowledge of why the medication is being withheld.

Denial of access to essential medication has worsened his condition, causing the return of acid reflux and intestinal swelling, and leaving him unable to eat.

Earlier, on 5 May, Ahmadian went on a hunger strike to protest the Tehran Prosecutor’s refusal to suspend his sentence and continued obstruction of his medical treatment.

He was transferred from Ward 4 of Evin Prison to Unit 2, Halls 5 to 9 of the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary, alongside several other political prisoners. Reports describe the conditions there as poor.

Deprivation of medical care: Ahmadian’s critical condition

Ahmadian, a Kurdish political prisoner suffering from duodenal cancer, diaphragmatic hernia, spinal stenosis and urinary tract infection, has lost over 35 kilos due to the continued denial of specialist medical care. His condition is now considered critical and worrying.

In June 2024, he was transferred once to a medical facility outside prison, but was returned to Evin Prison before his treatment was completed.

Ahmadian has long highlighted the impact of medical neglect on his deteriorating health. In a letter written in January 2020, Ahmadian described his worsening health condition, attributing it to the denial of timely medical care. He noted infections in the testicular region and fractures in three vertebrae caused by torture during detention.

He wrote: “Unfortunately, the prison authorities refused to cover the costs of my surgeries and medications. According to the Prisons Organisation’s regulations, these expenses should be borne by the prison, but I had to pay all costs myself. Due to financial constraints, I stopped seeking further treatment.”

Ahmadian, from Baneh, Kurdistan Province, was arrested on 5 October 2010. After eight months in solitary confinement under severe physical torture at security detention centres in Sardasht, Saqqez, and Sanandaj, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and exile to Minab Prison on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) due to alleged membership of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

Additionally, in two separate cases, he was sentenced to one million rials in fines and one year in prison for “unauthorized crossing of the country’s borders” and nine years in prison, half a full diya (blood money), and a 200-million-rials fine for “complicity in murder”.

Since his arrest, Ahmadian has been held in the prisons of Saqqez, Sanandaj, Rajai Shahr, Evin and the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary.