Aida Najaflou, an imprisoned Christian convert in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, Iran, recently fractured her spine after falling from her bunk bed. She was briefly taken to hospital, where doctors recommended urgent surgery, but was returned to prison the same day, still in pain, and without receiving the necessary treatment.
According to Article 18 and Open Doors, her condition is particularly fragile; she lives with rheumatoid arthritis, and warned prison officials that climbing to a top bunk was dangerous for her. Her requests for a lower bed were ignored. “With a fractured vertebra and limited medical access, Aida faces additional suffering that could have been prevented,” Open Doors shared on X.
“Before her imprisonment, Aida had gone through several major surgeries and was still recovering from a nine-hour operation when the authorities arrested her,” Open Doors continued. “She spent over two months in solitary confinement and has since been repeatedly denied proper medical attention.”
She remains in custody because her family cannot afford the bail set at 11billion tomans (just under £100,000). Her case is still awaiting a court verdict.
Iran is ninth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List – the annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.
