Introduction
Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared, a 58-year-old political prisoner and survivor of the 1980s mass repression, is currently held in Fashafouyeh Prison (Greater Tehran Penitentiary) under life-threatening conditions. He suffers from severe diabetes, cardiac problems, and complete paralysis of both legs. Despite repeated hospital transfers due to severe infections in his legs, he has been forcibly returned to prison each time without completing his treatment.
The official Legal Medicine Organization has confirmed that Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared is “unfit to serve his sentence” and should be released or at least granted medical furlough. However, the Ministry of Intelligence has blocked this ruling. His life is now in imminent danger, and his case stands as a stark example of the regime’s deliberate use of illness as a tool of pressure and torture against political prisoners.
Medical Condition and Prison Circumstances
Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared is completely paralyzed in both legs and dependent on a wheelchair. He cannot manage his daily needs without assistance from fellow inmates. In addition to paralysis, he suffers from severe diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and prostate problems.
The infections caused by diabetes in his legs have repeatedly worsened, spreading into the bloodstream. In September 2025 (Shahrivar 1404), he was transferred to Shohada‑ye Tajrish Hospital due to a severe infection, but his treatment was cut short and he was forcibly returned to prison. Other hospitals, including Haft‑e Tir Hospital in Shahr‑e Rey, refused to admit him. Doctors have warned of the risk of amputation or death.
Even during hospital stays, Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared was shackled to the bed with handcuffs and leg irons, under heavy guard. This practice is not medical care but a form of additional punishment and inhumane treatment.
Fashafouyeh Prison (Greater Tehran Penitentiary) — notorious for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, lack of medicine, and inadequate food — poses a constant threat to his survival. For a sick political prisoner like Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared, detention there amounts to a slow death sentence.
Arrest and Security Case
Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared has a long history of imprisonment dating back to the 1980s. During the nationwide protests of 2022 (1401), he was re‑arrested and held for five months in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, where he was subjected to severe interrogations and threats of execution.
His most recent arrest occurred on 21 January 2025 (2 Bahman 1403), only three days after his son, Amir Hassan Akbari Monfared, was detained in Tehran. Security agents raided their home violently and arrested both father and son. Following the events known as the “12‑Day War” in Evin Prison, they were both forcibly transferred to Fashafouyeh , one of the harshest prisons in Iran.
According to reliable information from his family inside Iran, Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared and his son Amir Hassan, along with several other political prisoners, were subjected to intense pressure and forced interrogations to extract confessions regarding the deaths of judicial officials Ebrahim Moghiseh and Ali Razini. Reports indicate that they endured physical and psychological torture and prolonged detention under inhumane conditions.
Although Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared was cleared of the murder charge, he has remained in custody. His case is clearly political, and the ongoing deprivation of medical care is part of a systematic effort to exert further pressure on a family that has already suffered decades of repression.
Denial of Treatment and Legal Medicine Ruling
In July 2025 (Tir 1404), the Legal Medicine Organization formally declared that Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared is “unfit to serve his sentence” and must be released or granted medical furlough. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Intelligence prevented the implementation of this ruling and insisted on keeping him in Fashafouyeh .
This reveals a deliberate policy: the authorities are not merely neglecting political prisoners’ health, but intentionally using illness and deprivation of treatment as a form of white torture. The cycle of incomplete hospital transfers, forced returns to prison, and denial of essential medication exemplifies this policy.
Family and Political Background
The Akbari Monfared family is among the most prominent victims of the 1980s political executions. Four of Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared’s siblings — Alireza, Gholamreza, Abdolreza, and Roghieh — were executed by the regime’s henchmen during that decade.
His sister, Maryam Akbari Monfared, has been imprisoned for more than fifteen years without a single day of furlough. She was sentenced to a long prison term for seeking justice for her executed siblings, and after completing her initial sentence, she was arbitrarily given an additional two years. A mother of three, Maryam herself suffers from serious medical problems and has consistently been denied access to treatment.
The renewed arrests of Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared and his son Amir Hassan in January 2025 are part of this systematic pressure. In September 2025, Amir Hassan went on hunger strike to protest his father’s dire condition and to demand urgent medical care. This pattern demonstrates that the repression targets not just individuals but entire families across generations.
Human Rights Dimensions and International Obligations
The case of Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared is a clear violation of multiple international human rights standards. His right to life, protected under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is being directly endangered through denial of urgent medical treatment. The prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been violated by detaining a paralyzed and gravely ill prisoner in such conditions.
The Nelson Mandela Rules (UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners) require that detainees receive medical care equivalent to that available in the community. In Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared’s case, even the most basic needs — such as diabetes management and heart medication — have been denied. Blocking the implementation of the Legal Medicine Organization’s ruling also represents a blatant breach of fair trial rights.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared is on the brink of death. His continued detention in Fashafouyeh Prison, despite his critical medical condition and the official ruling confirming his unfitness for imprisonment, places full responsibility on the judiciary and security agencies of the regime.
His case illustrates the regime’s systematic policy of denying medical care to political prisoners as a means of punishment. The urgency of his situation demands immediate international action. Human rights defenders, international organizations, and the global public must call for his unconditional release or at least urgent medical furlough.
Any further delay could result in his slow and preventable death behind bars. Silence in the face of this tragedy would amount to complicity in the regime’s policy of deliberate medical neglect and repression of political prisoners. The time to act to save Mohammad Ali Akbari Monfared’s life is now.
