Hamid Gharehasanlou, imprisoned doctor: his left lung has almost stopped working

The association "Medical Staff for Human Rights", a group based in Austria, has said in a statement that the physical condition of Hamid Gharehasanlou, a 57-year-old radiologist imprisoned since 2022, has become critical because of lung problems and that his left lung has "almost stopped working". The group has called for urgent medical care for the imprisoned doctor.

According to Radio Farda, which reported the statement on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, Mr Gharehasanlou suffered multiple physical injuries after being beaten and pressured during his arrest and underwent surgery. The warning comes four years after the start of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement.

The case of Hamid Gharehasanlou and his wife

Hamid Gharehasanlou and his wife, Farzaneh Gharehasanlou, were arrested in November 2022 after attending the fortieth-day memorial of Hadis Najafi, one of those killed in that year's protests. The Islamic Republic's judiciary tried them in the case over the death of Ruhollah Ajamian, a Basij member, in Karaj.

The court of first instance sentenced the doctor to death. The sentence drew a wide reaction from medical associations around the world and, according to Radio Farda, was changed by the appeals court to 15 years in prison in exile in Yazd. In the same case, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were executed in January 2023.

Concern over sick prisoners

Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that the Islamic Republic uses the denial of treatment to sick political prisoners as a means of pressure. Meanwhile, pressure on detained protesters continues, including the death sentence handed to Hadi Abbasian, a protester from Shirvan and the execution of Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raeisi in Isfahan.

A human rights medical association warns that the left lung of imprisoned doctor Hamid Gharehasanlou has almost stopped working and that his life depends on urgent treatment.

Sources

• Radio Farda
• Wikipedia: Prosecution of Hamid Ghareh-Hassanlou