Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) has issued a statement to protest against the tying of the hands and feet of the sick prisoners in hospital, including that of Nargas Mohammadi.
DHRC, a grassroots organization, published a copy of the statement on its website, signed by Shirin Ebadi, and asked the responsible authorities to create an atmosphere free of tension in the hospital, suitable for the treatment of Ms Mohammadi.
Narges Mohammadi, CSHR’s vice president, suffers from pulmonary embolism and muscle paralysis. On 11 October 2015, after convulsion in prison, she was hospitalized.
Below is the full text of CSHR’s statement, published on 16 October 2015:
Narges Mohammadi, CSHR’s vice president and spokesperson, who had been re-arrested and sent to prison on 5 May 2015, was finally hospitalized on 16 October 2015, after her condition took a turn for the worse. This is while a few brain, nerves and lungs specialist physicians had already observed that keeping Ms Mohammadi in prison will cause irreplaceable damage. They had thus asked for Ms Mohammadi to be treated outside prison and in a tension-free environment.
Unfortunately, after Ms Mohammadi was sent to hospital, her hand and feet were tied to the bed, despite the protests of her physicians and a female guard stands by her on a 24-hour basis. These conditions have led to three heavy bouts of convulsion for Ms Mohammadi.
The requests to stop tying the hands and feet of Ms Mohammadi are continually ignored. Physicians believe that her health will not improve so long as these conditions are not changed.
On the other hand, based on the orders of prison authorities, the costs of hospital and necessary tests have been demanded of Ms Mohammadi’s family. Since the Prisons’ Organization is responsible for protecting the life of prisoners and their treatment and since this sick prisoner had been dismissed from her job, long before going to prison, due to her human rights activities and since her husband has been forced to reside abroad due to his political activities, incurring the massive costs of hospitalization is not possible for this family and the demand for it is against the law.
Also, although some members of Ms Mohammadi’s family have recently gotten limited visitation rights to the hospital, she still lacks access to the phone and is unable to speak to her eight-year old children. Due to the nature of Ms Mohammadi’s illness, this can deteriorate her condition.
Citing the above-mentioned grounds, the CSHR protests against the tying of the hands and feet of sick prisoners while they are being treated in hospital and reminds the responsible judicial authorities that the least that they could do for sick prisoners is to protect their lives and treat them properly and based on medical regulations, including by providing a calm and tension-free environment.
Since Ms Mohammadi suffers from pulmonary embolism and muscular paralysis and these conditions are worsened in the conditions of prison and tense environments, the CSHR asks for the provision of tension-free conditions in hospital for Ms Mohammadi.
Shirin Ebadi
Defenders of Human Rights Centre, President
16 October 2015