کمپین امروز عفو بین الملل در رابطه با محمود صالحی

Jailed Iranian trade unionist requires urgent medical treatment

Health fears
Mahmoud Salehi, former leader of the Bakers� Union in Saqez, has long-term medical concerns. He was reportedly transferred briefly to hospital, unconscious, on 11 December, after repeatedly collapsing in prison between 4-10 December. During an earlier hospitalisation, on or around 4 December, the authorities placed restraints on his bed. He may not be receiving adequate medical care.
A May 2007 request by his doctor that he be accorded specialist treatment outside the prison has been ignored. He suffers from chronic kidney disease, as a result of which he requires dialysis. He is also said to suffer from a heart disorder and has been returned to prison where he remains.
In December 2007 it was reported that Salehi has grave intestinal edema or swelling that may be connected with his renal disease. His wife, Najibeh Salehzadeh is reported to have said on 18 December that:
��the physical health of my partner is extremely severe. One of his kidneys has stopped working and because of being deprived of proper medical treatment the other kidney is losing its functions. His blood pressure fluctuates and his blood sugar is surging. He falls unconscious about twice daily. The lack of treatment of his kidney has affected his heart as well. His feet and legs are swollen and the excessive injections of tranquilizers have seriously endangered his well-being�.�
Background
Mahmoud Salehi has been denied visits from his lawyer and family. His family, who live 400km from Sanandaj, have been able to contact him by telephone. He was arrested after a peaceful demonstration to celebrate May Day 2004. In November 2005 he was sentenced to five years� imprisonment and three years' internal exile in the city of Ghorveh, Kordestan. At his trial, the prosecutor reportedly cited his trade union activities as evidence against him, and referred to a meeting he had held with officials from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) - now reconstituted as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) - in April 2004, shortly before the May Day demonstrations.
His conviction was overturned on appeal, but after a retrial he was sentenced on 11 November 2006 to four years� imprisonment for "conspiring to commit crimes against national security". He was free until the appeal hearing on 11 March, when his sentence was reduced to a three-year suspended prison sentence and one year�s imprisonment, which commenced with his imprisonment on 9 April 2007.