According to reports received by the Hana Human Rights Organization, on the morning of Wednesday, February 19, 2025, political prisoner Anwar Chaleshi, a resident of Lorzini Margur village, who had been imprisoned in Orumiyeh Central Prison since 2020, lost his life at Khomeini Hospital in Orumiyeh due to cancer and lack of medical care.
Anwar Chaleshi, along with another political prisoner, Kamel Seyda Maskan, was arrested by IRGC intelligence forces in December 2020. Both prisoners endured months of severe physical and psychological torture. The torture was so extreme that their legs bled continuously for six months due to cable beatings, causing their skin to peel repeatedly.
After months of interrogation and torture in security detention centers, both prisoners were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by Branch 1 of the Orumiyeh Revolutionary Court on charges of “acting against national security through membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties against the Iranian government.”
During his imprisonment, Anwar Chaleshi developed cancer. Despite his deteriorating health, IRGC intelligence prevented his transfer to a hospital for a year. When his condition became critical and his life was in danger, he was finally transferred to a hospital. However, due to inadequate medical care and prolonged torture, he passed away in the early hours of today.
Anwar Chaleshi had two children, one of whom has Down syndrome. His family lives in extreme poverty and will face even greater economic and social hardship following his death.
The Hana Human Rights Organization holds the Islamic Republic of Iran directly responsible for the death of this political prisoner and calls on international human rights organizations and advocacy groups for political prisoners to exert diplomatic and international pressure on the Iranian government to end systematic repression, torture, and the deprivation of political prisoners of their fundamental human rights.