As Montreal academic remains in Iran's Evin Prison, authorities may be denying her needed medication. We see a lovely brown-haired woman posing in front of some library shelves.

As Montreal academic remains in Iran's Evin Prison, authorities may be denying her needed medication.
Photo Credit: CP Photo/HO/Concordia University

Amnesty International condemns Iran prison medical policies

As Canadian academic Homa Hoodfar languishes incommunicado in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison, Amnesty International has issued a stinging rebuke to Iranian authorities over medical treatment of prisoners.

 Iranian women prisoners sit at their cell in Tehran’s Evin prison June 13, 2006.
Iranian women prisoners sit at their cell in Tehran’s Evin prison June 13, 2006. © Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters

The report says prison staff regularly withhold specialized care, intentionally disrupt treatment and withhold specialized medication from prisoners.

Hoodfar, 65, a former Concordia University anthropology professor who carried out numerous studies on Muslim women, suffers from a neurological illness and had a mild stroke last year.

Hoodfar, who holds Canadian and Iranian passports, as well as an Irish passport, was arrested in March as she prepared to return to Montreal after doing research and seeing her family in Iran.

She was arrested in March and reportedly indicted on unknown charges last week.

Amnesty did not mention her by name but Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, says the report raises concerns about Hoodfar’s health.

Because she is being held incommunicado, it is unclear if she is being denied her medication.

Canadian-Iranian photo journalist Zahra Kazemi died under mysterious circumstances at Evin Prison in 2003. We see a lovely, dark-skinned woman with an open face from the chin up. She is smiling.
Canadian-Iranian photo journalist Zahra Kazemi died under mysterious circumstances at Evin Prison in 2003. © cbc.ca

Hoodfar’s case evokes memories of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photographer who was killed in Evin Prison in 2003 and Saeed Malekpour, an engineer from Victoria B.C. who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2008 for allegedly corrupting morals.He was sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly designing and moderating pornographic websites.

Malekpour developed an Internet photo-sharing tool that his supporters say was used without his knowledge or pornographic purposes.

Iran does not recognize dual nationalities and a number of nationals, including people with French, British and U.S. passports, have been arrested because of alleged security issues.

Freeing Hoodfar is further complicated because Canada and Iran do not have diplomatic relations.

Gloria Nafziger is a country campaigner at Amnesty International Canada. One of those countries is Iran.

She spoke by phone Monday from her office in Ottawa.

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