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Two Iranian Political Prisoners Denied Medical Leave


Iranian opposition activist Abdollah Momeni
Iranian opposition activist Abdollah Momeni
The relatives of two jailed Iranian political activists have expressed concern about the health of their loved ones, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Ali Tabarzadi, son of prominent political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, told Radio Farda on July 10 that his father has developed heart disease in prison.

He said his father has been transferred to the infirmary at Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, but was given only basic treatment and needs to leave prison for serious medical care.

Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, the head of the banned opposition Democratic Front, was detained by Intelligence Ministry officials in Tehran after bloody protests on the holy day of Ashura (December 28) in 2009.

He has not been allowed to leave the prison -- where he is serving an eight-year sentence -- since his arrest.

Meanwhile Fatemeh Adinehvand, the wife of jailed student activist Abdollah Momeni, told Radio Farda on July 10 that her husband is suffering from intestinal problems as a result of his recent hunger strike.

She said Momeni has also developed a skin disease in prison which has not been treated yet.

Momeni, a spokesman for Iran's largest reformist student organization, the Office to Foster Unity, was arrested during the crackdown that followed the controversial June 2009 presidential election.

Adinehvand said her husband needs medical treatment outside the prison because the prison infirmary doctors have not been able to cure him.

She added that Momeni has been denied permission to leave prison because of an open letter he published last September detailing the physical and psychological torture to which he was subjected to in jail.

Momeni is currently serving a four-year, 11-month sentence in Tehran's Evin prison.

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