Hunger Strike – A Cry for the Right to Medical Care
On 27 October 2025, imprisoned lawyer Taher Naqavi and several other political prisoners in Evin Prison began a hunger strike. According to sources close to Naqavi, the decision came after months of severe pain, denial of medical care, and the indifference of prison authorities. One cellmate recalled:
“He said he could no longer bear the injustice. His strike wasn’t only for himself; it was to remind everyone that even inside prison, the law must mean something.”
Naqavi, a Tehran Bar Association lawyer and human rights defender, had dedicated his career to upholding the law—until that same law turned against him.
From Defending Justice to Facing It
Taher Naqavi was arrested on 6 February 2024 when security forces raided his office in Tehran, where he represented families of victims from the 2022 nationwide protests. Like many other independent lawyers, he was charged with the vague and overused accusations of “propaganda against the state” and “collusion against national security.” He spent months in detention without access to his lawyer or case files, and was eventually tried by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran under Judge Salavati, receiving a six-year prison sentence in a session that lasted less than an hour.
Witnesses say that after hearing the verdict, Naqavi told one of the guards: “You are not punishing me for a crime, but for doing my duty.” The guard replied: “This is our law, not yours.”
The Right to Treatment Turned into Punishment
Lawyers following the case report that Naqavi suffers from multiple severe health conditions, including an enlarged prostate, cervical and lumbar disc disease, and fractures in four vertebrae (T7, T9, T10, and T11). Prison doctors have repeatedly recommended urgent surgery, yet every request for his hospital transfer has been denied.
In September 2024, Naqavi suffered a gastric hemorrhage. According to witnesses, a prison officer told him, “Put on your prison uniform and we’ll take you to the infirmary.” When Naqavi refused to wear handcuffs and leg shackles, the officer left and locked the door. Such treatment constitutes a blatant violation of Article 502 of Iran’s Criminal Procedure Code, which mandates suspension of punishment when a prisoner’s health deteriorates.
Silence of the Law, the Voice of the Prisoners
On 29 October 2025, a group of political prisoners in Evin Prison issued a joint statement warning of Naqavi’s deteriorating health:
“The authorities’ negligence in transferring Taher Naqavi to medical centers constitutes torture and inhuman treatment. The deliberate delay in providing him with medical care facilitates physical harm, and the state bears full responsibility for his life.”
The statement circulated widely on social media with hashtags such as #TaherNaqavi and #PoliticalPrisonersInDanger, drawing renewed attention from human rights organizations. Reports confirmed that many political prisoners in Iran are deprived of adequate medical care, and Taher Naqavi’s name appears among the most urgent cases. These reports emphasized that denial of medical treatment has become a systematic tool of repression and “white torture” against political detainees in Iran.
Beyond a Personal Case
Naqavi’s case is not merely an individual tragedy but part of a broader campaign targeting lawyers and human rights defenders in Iran. The ruling regime seeks to dismantle the independence of the legal profession and silence those who defend the oppressed. International organizations such as the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) have repeatedly warned about the persecution of independent lawyers in Iran.
In its January 2025 statement marking the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, OMCT Marking the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer – escalating persecution in Iran (OMCT) wrote:
“In Iran, lawyers are not only prosecuted but also subjected to physical and psychological abuse. The case of Taher Naqavi reminds the world that defending the law in the Islamic Republic often means losing one’s freedom.”
Systematic Denial of Medical Care
Numerous human rights reports have emphasized that the denial of medical treatment in Iranian prisons is not due to negligence but is an intentional policy and a tool of systemic repression. Depriving prisoners, especially political and conscience prisoners, of access to medical care in Iranian prisons is a deliberate and systematic act aimed at breaking their resistance through pain and the gradual erosion of body and mind.
This policy continues to define life inside Evin and other prisons across the country, where “treatment” has become part of the punishment, and pain a weapon to silence dissent.
Call to the Global Conscience
Taher Naqavi’s health condition remains critical. Repeated appeals from fellow lawyers, his family, and civil activists have gone unanswered. This report calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, international bar associations, and global human rights organizations to take immediate action to save his life and ensure access to medical care for all political prisoners in Iran.
Naqavi is not just a lawyer behind bars—he symbolizes the collapse of the rule of law in a country where justice itself has become a crime. His freedom will be the true measure of the world’s commitment to human dignity.
