Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist detained in prison who was transferred to the hospital last week for his poor medical condition and taken back to prison without medical examination, was diagnosed with Chondrosarcoma cancer, which has been confirmed by doctors.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Arash Sadeghi, a human rights activist detained in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, was transferred to the hospital again earlier this week to examine his medical condition. His cancer diagnosis was confirmed by doctors on Saturday August 25th, 2018.
A source close to Mr. Sadeghi’s family told the campaign: “On Saturday, the lab results showed that Arash is suffering from a malignant cancer, chondrosarcoma in the arm and clavicle area.”
Chondrosarcoma is one of the most common primary malignant tumors at a relatively young age, in which malignant cartilage cells produce tumors.
It should be noted that Arash Sadeghi was abandoned in solitary confinement without any treatment for his broken areas after having his arm and shoulder broken during the interrogation period. It seems that due to excessive and abnormal cell proliferation in the fractured areas, he is now facing a cancer that has caused him a lot of suffering and great pain in the past one and a half years. Also, because of his long-term hunger strike, he is not able to digest any food and his weight is now 43 kilos.
Earlier, Amnesty International called for the immediate transfer of Arash Sadeghi to a specialized cancer center.
Arash Sadeghi was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of collusion and planning against domestic security, insulting leadership, forming illegal groups, and using propaganda against the regime. Judge Pourarab, head of Branch 54 of the court, issued an execution of four-year suspended sentence. As a result, Arash Sadeghi is currently serving his 19 years in prison at the Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.
He has suffered from various illnesses because of a long and continuous hunger strike. He is suffering from respiratory discomfort and digestive, stomach and intestines diseases. His kidney has been said to have been seriously damaged by constant hunger strike and lack of medical attention.
Arash Sadeghi was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence agents for the first time on July 9th, 2009, in front of Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, along with a number of protesting students, and was released on bail after 90 days.
The human rights activist was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in April 2014 and was released after 6 months imprisonment on 600 million Tomans bail. During his temporarily released from prison, the agents raided his home to arrest him which caused his mom a stroke and eventually she died.
Arash Sadeghi was arrested in May, 2016, for last time. In October 2017, he started his hunger strike for 70 days, and on September 2017, he was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj from Evin Prison. This political prisoner recently launched a new hunger strike on Friday, February 25th, 2018, in protest to his wife, Golrokh Iraee, and Atena Daemi transfer from Evin Prison to Gharchak Prison (Shahr-e- re) with beating and insults. He ended his hunger strike due to severe physical weakness and respect for his inmate friends’ request.