Concerns are growing over the health of Iranian political prisoner Hamid Haj-Jafar Kashani, who is reportedly being denied adequate medical treatment despite suffering from several serious health conditions.
Kashani, a former futsal referee currently held in Greater Tehran Prison, is reported to suffer from spinal problems, digestive disorders and a heart condition. Human rights reports say he has not received the specialist medical care required for his illnesses, placing his health at increasing risk.
His case has attracted further concern because the reported restrictions on his treatment coincide with increased pressure following his support for the “No to Execution” campaign. Kashani has spoken out against the use of capital punishment while in prison, and reports suggest that his stance has drawn an adverse reaction from officials connected with his case.
Kashani was arrested during the nationwide protests in January 2026. He was later sentenced by a Revolutionary Court to five years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” and a further year for “propaganda against the system”, with the five-year sentence enforceable under Iran’s rules on multiple convictions. Questions have also been raised about the reported absence of a lawyer of his choosing during the proceedings.
He had previously been detained after holding a protest placard in Tehran, and sources have linked successive judicial actions against him to his peaceful protest activities and political views.
Whatever a prisoner’s political beliefs or the charges brought against them, access to essential healthcare is a basic right. The state has a responsibility for the health and safety of every individual in its custody. Withholding necessary medical care cannot be treated as an additional form of punishment.
The reported pressure on Kashani following his opposition to executions raises another fundamental issue: imprisonment does not extinguish a person’s right to hold and express an opinion.
His case therefore brings together several of the most serious concerns surrounding political imprisonment in Iran — access to healthcare, fair trial guarantees, freedom of expression and the treatment of prisoners who challenge the death penalty.
Iranian authorities should ensure that Kashani receives immediate and appropriate medical attention and that no prisoner is subjected to punitive treatment for peacefully opposing executions.
These four are, in my view, the strongest package for the first site right now. They are all dated 13–14 August 2026, with the first also giving the site a particularly useful UK angle. The writing is deliberately not a translation of the second site; I have rebuilt each story in the editorial voice and approximate length of the first site while retaining the underlying facts and appropriate caution around claims that have not been independently verified.