Concerns grow for Kurdish political prisoner’s health in Evin Prison

Kurdish political prisoner Motalleb Ahmadian, who is serving his 16th year in prison, remains in Evin Prison despite a forensic medical assessment that he is unfit to continue serving his sentence.

He has several serious illnesses, including cancer, and the Tehran prosecutor has refused requests to suspend his sentence or grant him medical leave.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that delays in transferring Ahmadian to medical centres outside prison allowed a tumour initially diagnosed as benign to become malignant and spread to other parts of his body.

As his condition worsened, doctors removed his gallbladder and parts of his liver and large intestine in several operations.

Ahmadian suffers from a diaphragmatic hernia, spinal canal stenosis, a urinary tract infection and stomach cancer.

Despite the forensic medical assessment and his deteriorating condition, the Tehran prosecutor has refused to suspend his sentence or approve medical leave.

His continued imprisonment has raised concerns for his health and life.

In previous years, prison officials repeatedly refused to give him medicines obtained from outside the prison, despite confirmation from a specialist and Evin Prison’s infirmary that he needed the prescribed medication.

Ahmadian went on hunger strike on 5 May 2025 to protest the Tehran prosecutor’s refusal to suspend his sentence and the denial of medical treatment.

His continued denial of access to specialised medical care has caused him to lose more than 35 kg, leaving him in a critical and alarming condition.

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 was born in Baneh in 1983 and arrested on 5 October 2010. After eight months in security detention facilities in Sardasht, Saqqez and Sanandaj, where he says he was held in harsh solitary confinement and subjected to severe physical torture, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison and exile to Minab Prison on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh).

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