Iranian activist and former political prisoner Atena Daemi says that about 40 people in Ward 6 of Qarchak Prison, south of Tehran, are suspected of having tuberculosis.
Writing on Twitter, Daemi added that about 100 prisoners are kept in this ward and that the prisoners suspected of having tuberculosis have been tested. Daemi, who spent five years in prison over her activism, maintains contact with prisoners.
On June 27, Daemi published a post on her Instagram page and wrote that a prisoner in the women's ward of Qarchak Prison was infected with tuberculosis and the prison authorities were not paying attention to her condition.
"After the protest of the prisoners, this person had been taken to quarantine for a few days. But she was returned to the prison again, and after that at least three other people in this prison were infected with tuberculosis," Daemi added.
According to human rights activists, Qarchak Prison currently holds about 1,500 prisoners. Before becoming a prison for women, the site was a poultry farm and then a drug-rehab camp for men, and according to the official announcement of the prison authorities, it only has a capacity of 1,200 prisoners.
Activists and political prisoners have warned repeatedly about the poor hygiene at Qarchak Prison and what they describe as a lack of attention to the health of the prisoners.
Last year, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders warned of the “appalling conditions” at Qarchak Prison and called for an immediate reaction from the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights and the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran.
