Prisoner Dies of Medical Negligence in Custody
Published by Ali on July 23, 2019
Prisoner Dies of Medical Negligence in Custody
A prisoner held at Urmia Central Prison, northwest Iran, died on 8 July as a result of the prison authorities’ medical negligence.
Ashkan Mehrivash passed away on Monday, 8 July, because the prison’s defibrillator was not working.
Ashkan, detained in Ward 15 of Urmia Prison, was taken to the prison clinic after suffering a heart attack.
Despite this, prison officials have reported his cause of death as a “drug overdose”.
According to Iranian human rights groups, one of the prison guards protested the official report and said that prison officials were blaming their medical negligence on the prisoner.
This is not the first time that a prisoner dies as a result of medical negligence in Iranian state custody. Despite this, officials have not taken any substantial measures to prevent these kinds of deaths.
The State Prisons Organization and the judiciary are responsible for keeping prisoners safe but to date no organization or individual has been held responsible for the deaths.
Iran’s prisons are notoriously harsh. Prisoners are usually held in overcrowded, unsanitary and poorly ventilated conditions. This, combined with the denial of adequate medical care, often exacerbates prisoners’ pre-existing medical problems or contributes to new problems, causing irreparable damage to their health.
