Such provision is not in full compliance with international standards, notably Rule 27(c) of the Mandela Rules which states: “Clinical decisions may only be taken by the responsible healthcare professionals and may not be overruled or ignored by non-medical prison staff.”5 Human Rights Defenders identified in the January 2019 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran are Mr. Farhad Meysami, Mr. Arash Sadeghi, Mr. Soheil Arabi and Ms. Narges Mohammadi. Special Procedures of the UN have sent numerous communications raising concerns about their health conditions while in detention, including other human rights defenders such as Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, including more recently about added health risks brought in detention by the COVI-19 pandemic. Mr. Arash Sadeghi6 was the subject of six communications from Special Procedures, raising concerns about his poor state of health while being held in detention.7 The Government only responded to four of them, and despite the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s Opinion in 2018, founding that Mr. Sadeghi is being arbitrarily deprived of his liberty, has not released Mr. Sadeghi as of November 2020. The most recent communication from Special Procedures raising concerns about Mr. Sadeghi’s lack of access to medical care was sent in September 2020 and, as of November 2020, has remained unanswered. Despite the diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer, Mr. Sadeghi has not been granted medical leave based on Article 502 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Mr. Farhad Meysami8 was the subject of a Special Procedures communication sent in October 2018 expressing “deep concern about the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Meysami whilst in prison.” 9 The Government did not answer to this communication. On 5 October 2020, Mr. Meysami tested positive for COVID-19 while in prison and was transferred to solitary confinement where he reportedly received minimal medical attention, despite pre-existing poor health state. Eight days later, he was transferred back to the prison where he was previously detained.10 Mr. Soheil Arabi11 has been in imprisoned since 2013 and has reportedly been intermittently denied medication although suffering from an inflammatory condition since April 2019 as well as been pressured to pay for any medical expenses that he does receive. On 1 March 2020, Mr. 5 The Mandela Rules, Rule 27(2), available at www.penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/MANDELA-RULES.pdf United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/1931/ 7 Special Procedures Communication sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 8 September 2020, UA IRN 21/2020, https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25522 8 United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/4599/ 9 Special Procedures Communication sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 3 October 2018, UA IRN 12/2018, https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24120 10 Front Line Defenders, https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/human-rights-defender-farhad-meysami-spends-eight-dayssolitary-confinement-after-contracting 11 United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/1917/ 6 2