A woman held in prison in Iran for the past six months for writing anti-government slogans died Thursday after falling into a coma, rights groups said, accusing authorities of neglect.
Somayeh Rashidi, 42, died in hospital, state television said, adding her death was caused by medical problems that existed before her arrest in April.
The Norway-based Hengaw rights group however said her illness and coma had been caused by the denial of medical treatment while held in Qarchak prison, a jail for women outside Tehran notorious for its poor conditions.
It said she had been arrested for writing pro-protest slogans in a neighborhood of Tehran.
Rashidi was initially held at the city's Evin prison and then moved to Qarchak, like many other women, following the Israeli bombing of Evin during the 12-day war in June.
"Neglect worsened her condition, leading to seizures and eventual coma," Hengaw said.
The Iran Human Rights group, also based in Norway, said Rashidi "became seriously ill in prison, but despite repeated pleas from other inmates to transfer her to hospital, the prison authorities refused until she lost consciousness and fell into a coma".
Both groups described her as a "political prisoner".
The report on Iranian state television said she had died "despite the efforts of the medical personnel".
The Iranian judiciary described her as a member of the opposition People's Mujahedin (MEK), a group banned in Iran but whose political wing the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has a wide base among exiles in Europe and the United States.
The judiciary said she had been previously arrested in 2022 and 2023 and on this occasion had been caught in possession of "special equipment". It did not elaborate.
Without stating if she was aligned with the MEK, the NCRI said she had died as a result of "denial of medical treatment and the delay in her transfer to a hospital".
