A new report reveals that officials at the infamous Qarchak Women’s Prison in Varamin, Iran, are systematically denying essential medical care to inmates, demanding payment for hospital transfers and treatment. This practice has already led to multiple deaths and places the lives of over 1,200 prisoners at daily risk.
Qarchak Prison, long cited as one of the Iranian regime’s worst detention facilities for women, is enforcing a deadly “money for treatment” policy, according to sources from inside the facility. Officials at the prison infirmary are reportedly refusing to provide necessary medical services or transfer sick prisoners to outside hospitals unless the inmates or their families pay for the services in advance.
Political Prisoners Held in Inhumane Conditions in Iranian Rgime Prisons
This policy is being implemented despite the fact that many of the women incarcerated in Qarchak lack any financial support from the outside. In numerous cases, prisoners in critical condition who were unable to pay the demanded fees have been sent back to their wards without receiving care.
Fatal Consequences of a Corrupt Policy
This deliberate withholding of medical care has had fatal consequences. In recent months, several female prisoners have died due to the intentional denial of urgent medical attention. Among the victims were Atefeh Banayi and Farzaneh Bizhanipour, both of whom were accused of “malingering” or faking their illness by prison staff while in a state of severe physical distress, only to die shortly thereafter. Reports suggest that other similar deaths have occurred but have not been publicly disclosed, shrouded in a veil of official silence.
The head of the Qarchak prison infirmary, identified as a nurse, has been named as the official primarily responsible for demanding these payments. Even inmates facing serious conditions, such as the risk of a heart attack, have been told they must pay before being transferred to a hospital.
Violation of Official Regulations
This practice is in direct violation of the Iranian Prisons Organization’s own regulations, which explicitly state that prison authorities are responsible for safeguarding the health and lives of inmates.
Furthermore, the dire situation extends to political prisoners. Women who were transferred to the quarantine section of Qarchak Prison following an attack on Evin Prison are also being held in deplorable conditions and face the same life-threatening lack of medical care.
The continuation of the “money for treatment” policy confirms Qarchak’s reputation not only as one of Iran’s most notorious prisons but as a facility where the lives of more than 1,200 inmates are being actively and deliberately endangered.
