Oshnavieh Prison: Worsening Health Condition of Rahman Tabesh, Political Prisoner Sentenced to 16 Months in Prison, and Denial of Hospital Transfer

On June 27, 2025, Rahman Tabesh, a political prisoner from Oshnavieh sentenced to 16 months in prison, who had recently been transferred to Oshnavieh Prison to serve his sentence, became seriously ill in recent days. Despite urgent and serious recommendations from the prison infirmary for his transfer to a hospital outside the prison, the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Oshnavieh has prevented his transfer. The prison infirmary has only been controlling his condition through continuous sedative injections.

According to a source informed by Kurdpa, since July 21, 2025—the day of his transfer to Oshnavieh Prison to serve his 16-month sentence—Rahman Tabesh’s physical condition has deteriorated. Despite the infirmary’s recommendations to begin specialized medical treatment outside the prison, the IRGC Intelligence Organization in Oshnavieh rejected this request, violating his right to medical care and hospital transfer.

Rahman Tabesh

Rahman Tabesh, son of Morad, is from Oshnavieh. Between 2020 and 2024, he has had two court cases in the Oshnavieh Public and Revolutionary Court.

2020 case: He was detained for 82 days in the security detention centers of Oshnavieh and Urmia and sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in prison.

2024 case: He was detained for 20 days in one of Urmia’s security detention centers and sentenced to 16 months in prison.

During his total of 102 days of detention and interrogation by the IRGC Intelligence Organization in these security facilities, he was denied access to a lawyer and family visits.

2024 Case

On December 30, 2024, Rahman Tabesh was arrested without a judicial warrant, violently, in a raid on his home, and transferred to a security detention center in Urmia. After 20 days of arbitrary detention and denial of legal counsel and family visits, on February 18, 2025, he was temporarily released from Oshnavieh Prison until the completion of judicial proceedings, after posting bail of 700 million tomans.

A few months after his release, the Oshnavieh Public and Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ali Ansari, sentenced him to 16 months in prison on the charge of “membership in one of the Kurdish parties.” This ruling was likely issued in spring 2025.

After the verdict became final, on July 21, 2025, Rahman Tabesh was transferred to Oshnavieh Prison to serve his sentence.

2020 Case

On July 5, 2020, Rahman Tabesh and four other citizens were arrested by security forces without a judicial warrant and taken to an undisclosed location. He was held for 82 days in the IRGC Intelligence detention centers of Oshnavieh and Urmia (including 20 days in Oshnavieh and 62 days in Urmia), during which he was denied access to a lawyer and family visits. On September 24, 2020, he was released on bail.

In November 2020, the Oshnavieh Public and Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mehdi Rezaei, sentenced him to 3 years and 7 months in prison on the charge of “membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties and conspiracy against the state” and 8 months for “contact with one of the Kurdish opposition parties.” Under Iran’s sentence aggregation law, the longest sentence (3 years and 7 months) was set for enforcement.

This sentence was formally delivered to him on November 3, 2020, and was upheld in full by the Urmia Court of Appeals on January 22, 2021.

On March 8, 2021, Rahman Tabesh was arrested to serve his sentence and transferred to Naqadeh Central Prison.

On April 7, 2021, his request for conditional release with an electronic ankle monitor was rejected by the IRGC Intelligence Organization in Oshnavieh.

On May 31, 2021, he was transferred from Naqadeh Prison to Oshnavieh Prison. Earlier that month, in early May, he had been granted temporary leave and returned to Naqadeh Prison after his furlough ended.