Taleghani Hospital in Tehran declared it can no longer accept dialysis patients from Evin Prison, citing contamination of its facilities with bedbugs.
Former political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian claims the hospital has sent a sample can of bedbugs to the head of Evin's medical department to substantiate the claims.
In a post on social media platform X he warned that if the government denied the issue, more evidence will be revealed, including “videos of bedbugs parading in prison."
Zia Nabavi, a student activist and political prisoner currently in Evin Prison, wrote an open letter detailing the horrific conditions surrounding the infestation including prolonged periods without sleep.
In response to the accusations, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, denied the presence of bedbugs in Evin Prison, proclaiming the facility as one of the nation's “cleanest and most orderly prisons.”
According to Mizan, an unnamed source from the prison organization accused Nabavi of fabricating the claims to exert pressure on prison authorities for unspecified illegal demands.
Nabavi, a student activist, was imprisoned for his role in a protest in March last year against chemical attacks and the serial poisoning of students. Thousands of students were affected with hundreds in need of medical care.