Imprisoned TV Producer Suffering from Untreated Shingles Disorder

Television writer and producer Mostafa Azizi, who has been in Evin Prison since February 2015, has developed shingles, but has not yet received proper treatment.

Shingles is a painful, infectious skin disorder produced by the virus that causes chickenpox. Exposure to shingles can result in chicken pox, a virus that can be fatal if contracted by an adult.

“Unfortunately, my father has not had access to a specialist doctor. There is no skin specialist who can treat him [in prison]. I hope they allow him to get outside treatment in a hospital or let a specialist treat him in prison. [Prison authorities] say he is suffering from shingles, which will heal by itself over time and there’s no need for a specialist,” Azizi’s daughter, Parastoo, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

She added that even though her father’s arms and hands were covered with large and small blisters the only treatment he had received so far was a cortisone shot.

The case is yet another example of the denial of adequate medical care which political prisoners are routinely subjected to in Iran.

Mostafa Azizi, 53, was a successful television writer and producer before he emigrated along with his family to Canada in 2008. He was arrested by security forces on February 1, 2015, two months after returning to Iran, and interrogated for a month in the Revolutionary Guards’ Ward 2-A of Evin Prison. On June 11, 2015, Judge Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to eight years in prison for “acting against national security,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “propaganda against the state.”

Azizi is one of many émigrés who returned to Iran following assurances of their safe return by the Rouhani administration, but were arrested, prosecuted and sentenced by the Judiciary to prison terms upon their return for alleged national security crimes due to views or work deemed by security and intelligence officials to be critical of the government.

The Appeals Court heard his case on September 20 but no judgement has been issued yet, Parastoo Azizi told the Campaign.

In addition to the shingles disorder, Azizi has a history of diabetes, shortness of breath, and rheumatism.

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2015/10/mostafa-azizi-3/