Critical health condition of detained human rights activist in Iran

Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand

The detained head of Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan, Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, has probably suffered a stroke in prison, Iranian human rights groups and his family report.

Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, the founder of Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan, was arrested by Islamic Republic security forces on June 2007. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, he was kept in solitary confinement for five months and throughout his imprisonment he has consistently suffered from serious ailments.

His family has issued a statement saying: “According to the latest information received about the physical condition of Kaboudvand, he has most probably suffered a third stroke.”

The statement adds that the prison infirmary has attributed Kaboudvand’s loss of consciousness to irregularities in his blood pressure but the reported symptoms indicate that he has probably suffered another stroke.

In the past weeks, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have expressed grave concern about the health condition of political prisoners in Iran and claim that lack of adequate medical care in prisons is a form of pressuring prisoners and their families.

In addition to his human rights activities in Kurdistan, Kaboudvand was also the director of Payam-e Mardom Weekly and in January, 2009, Human Rights Watch awarded Kaboudvand with the Hellman/Hammett grant which is a grant to support writers that are punished by their governments for expressing opposition views.