A Christian convert in Evin Prison repeatedly denied treatment and medical leave despite suffering from a number of serious conditions has finally been released on a 10-day furlough, according to reports.

The Persian-language Human Rights Activist News Agency reports that Mahshar Parandin, who is serving a two-year sentence on unknown charges, was granted the short leave from prison on Saturday, after a salary slip was deposited as bail.

Mahshar, an artist and mother reported to be in her 50s and to be her family’s primary breadwinner, is suffering from a number of serious medical issues, which have affected her balance, mobility and speech.

Article18 reported in June that she continued to be denied treatment, even after the prison’s doctor diagnosed that she needed a cardiac angiogram and surgery for two tumours, which had continued to grow during her incarceration and had put her at risk of losing sight in one of her eyes.

Mahshar is also eligible for parole, but has been refused conditional release.

In August, renowned Iranian lawyer and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi drew attention to Mahshar’s case, writing on Telegram that although no public image of Mahshar had been published, “we must not allow her anonymity … to cause her life itself to remain hidden from view”.

“This obscurity must not cause her story to be lost amidst the overwhelming volume of other news,” she said. “Let us remember her name—even if we do not yet know her face.”

Denial of medical care to prisoners is one of the rights violations regularly referenced in the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran.

In recent years, a number of other imprisoned Christians have been denied the medical care they needed, such as Aida Najaflou, who last year was sent back to prison after fracturing her spine, before she had received the necessary treatment. 

Other notable cases include Laleh Saati, Saheb Fadaie and Mina Khajavi, a 60-year-old who was forced to begin her prison sentence despite not having fully recovered from a broken ankle sustained when she was run over by a car, and was denied the opportunity to have the operation scheduled for her.