According to reports received by Article18, Aida Najaflou, a Christian convert held in the women’s ward of Tehran’s Evin Prison, suffered a spinal fracture after falling from her bunk bed in the early hours of Sunday, October 31. Despite the severity of her injuries and her ongoing health problems, she was denied proper medical treatment and returned to prison the same day.

Following the incident, Najaflou was initially transferred to Taleghani Hospital, where X-rays confirmed serious injury. However, she was sent back to Evin Prison on a stretcher later that day without adequate treatment, reportedly in severe pain. The decision provoked protests from other political and religious prisoners in the women’s ward, prompting prison authorities to eventually transfer her to Shahid Tajrish Hospital.

Medical imaging confirmed a fracture in the T12 vertebra of her spine. Doctors recommended urgent surgery, followed by a long recovery period requiring specialized care and regular physiotherapy — treatment that is rarely available to prisoners in Iran.

Najaflou, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, had repeatedly warned prison officials that climbing to the top bunk was physically dangerous for her condition. Despite these warnings, her requests for transfer to a lower bed were ignored.

The Christian convert had previously endured several major surgeries and was still in recovery from a nine-hour operation when she was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents. During her detention — including 65 days of solitary confinement in Ward 209 under the Intelligence Ministry’s control — she has repeatedly been denied access to adequate medical care. Both intelligence officers and the presiding judge reportedly refused to issue permits for her hospitalization.

Human rights organizations have long accused Iranian authorities of systematically denying medical care to prisoners of conscience as a means of coercion and punishment.

Najaflou remains in detention due to her family’s inability to afford the extraordinarily high bail of 11 billion tomans (approximately $130,000). Heavy bail conditions have increasingly been imposed on Christian detainees. In May 2025, Lida Alek-Sani, wife of imprisoned Christian convert Joseph Shahbazian, was released from Evin Prison after one month in custody upon posting bail of four billion tomans.

Najaflou’s case remains under judicial review. On September 18–19, 2025, the second hearing for her and four other Christians — Joseph Shahbazian, Lida Alek-Sani,  Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, and another individual whose name has been withheld — was held at Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati. All four remain in legal limbo awaiting the court’s verdict.