Political activist Zeynab Jalalian lost her freedom – now she’s losing her sight
Zeynab Jalalian, aged 34, was a political activist working to empower Iran’s ethnic minority Kurds, particularly women.
In 2008, she was jailed for life for her supposed links to the military wing of a Kurdish opposition group. Her trial was grossly unfair. Not only was it over within a few minutes, but she was sentenced based on “confessions” she says she made after enduring months of torture. There was also no evidence linking her to armed activities, and she was not allowed to communicate with her lawyer.
Before her trial, she was held in a cell on her own for eight months. During this time, says Zeynab, she was flogged on the soles of her feet, and her head was repeatedly rammed against a wall, fracturing her skull and causing bleeding in the brain.
Today Zeynab suffers from a severe eye condition that urgently needs specialist surgery. Yet the authorities won’t permit it.
She needs our help. Iran’s authorities took away her freedom – we can’t let them take away her sight.
Sign our petition to the Head of the Judiciary in Iran:
I call on you to release Iranian Kurdish prisoner Zeynab Jalalian and immediately give her the treatment she needs.
I am concerned that Iran’s authorities are denying her the specialized medical treatment she urgently needs for her eyes.
Arrested for her social and political activities in 2008, Zeynab Jalalian says she was tortured in custody. She is serving a life sentence imposed after grossly unfair proceedings for her supposed links to the military wing of a Kurdish opposition group, an allegation which has not been supported by any evidence.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
09-12-2016