Recent reports from Evin Prison indicate that political prisoner Marzieh Farsi is in a concerning condition and has been denied essential medical treatment for her severe illnesses.
According to sources close to her family, Ms. Farsi, who has a history of cancer and heart disease, has recently suffered from severe dizziness, chronic headaches, and general weakness. Despite repeated recommendations from prison doctors for her immediate transfer to a specialized medical facility, Evin authorities have refused to issue the transfer permit and have left her in the women’s ward without medical care.
According to human rights activists, this negligence is a clear example of “white torture,” a method in which political prisoners are tormented without physical violence through psychological pressure, denial of medical care, or being kept uninformed about their health condition.
Iran’s Regime Raises Pressure on Families of Political Prisoners
Informed sources said that Marzieh Farsi’s physician had previously prescribed medication to control her cancer symptoms and prevent the disease from progressing. However, prison officials have blocked the entry of these medications under various pretexts. As a result, her physical condition has worsened, and there is now a risk of a full relapse.
One of her relatives told human rights media:
“Marzieh has to wait weeks even for the simplest medical need. A hospital transfer requires approval from several authorities, and in the end, it either goes unanswered or gets canceled at the last minute. Her family fears these delays may permanently destroy her health.”
According to the same source, she has suffered several episodes of heart palpitations and severe dizziness in recent months, but no adequate medical attention has been provided.
Marzieh Farsi, born in 1967 and a mother of several children, was first arrested in February 2020 in the city of Rey. After months of interrogation and torture, she was sentenced to five years in prison. Having served three years, she was released in March 2023, but only a few months later, on August 21, 2023—coinciding with the anniversary of nationwide protests—she was re-arrested and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, sentenced her to 15 years in prison on charges of “rebellion” and “connection with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).” The sentence was later reduced to five years upon appeal. Nevertheless, since her second arrest, Ms. Farsi has been in poor physical condition with no effective access to medical care.
Human rights activists state that this pattern is part of the regime’s systematic repression of women dissidents—those arrested for civic activism, journalism, or political protest—who now face deliberate medical neglect in prison.
According to a prisoners’ rights advocate, “Female political prisoners in Evin are not only deprived of proper medical facilities but even visits to the infirmary have become a tool of political pressure. Prison guards selectively grant medical transfers, and any protest can lead to solitary confinement as punishment.”
Concern of Activists and Calls for Urgent Action
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly stressed that denying prisoners access to medical care and medication is a clear violation of Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the ruling dictatorship is a signatory.
Finally, Marzieh Farsi’s family expressed deep concern about her health and called on international bodies and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran to intervene for her immediate transfer to a specialized hospital and to end the practice of white torture in Evin Prison.
