His health problems are believed to stem from an infection on his shoulder that was left untreated. After a severe pain affected his arm for months, prison doctors raised the possibility he was suffering from cancer and transferred him to a medical center. There, doctors diagnosed him with a cancerous tumor in his shoulder and recommended an immediate transfer for specialized medical treatment.

A biopsy in June of 2018 confirmed that he has a rare form of cancer that causes bone tumors. But, authorities never allowed him to receive full treatment. His last visit to a hospital specialized medical practitioners was in September 2018.

Judiciary officials have disregarded medical advice and Sadeghi’s repeated requests for further treatment that recommends monthly hospital visits to check his tumor and stop its growth. He is now unable to move his right arm. As well, the infection on the spot of his surgery is getting worse every day.

His father, Hossein Sadeghi uses Twitter to express his concern, “Arash’s condition is getting worse every day,” he tweets.

Sadeghi was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran in 2016 for “acting against national security, attending protests, defamation of the supreme leader, forming illegal groups, and propaganda against the regime.” Previous to that, he had received a suspended 4-year jail term, which was added to the new conviction. His prison term now totals 19 years.

According to Sadeghi, the charges were fabricated by the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, his wife, has been also sentenced to six years in prison for writing an unpublished story about stoning. Sadeghi went on hunger strike for 71 days to protest her sentence in October 2016. This strike left him with several health complications.

Although Iraee was in the hospital and was unable to attend the trial, she and her husband, Sadeghi, were tried by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in May by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, who had refused to postpone the trial to hear her defense.

Even so, Branch 54 of the Appeals Court upheld the judge’s verdict of “collusion against national security”, “propaganda against the state”, “spreading lies in cyberspace”, and “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic [Khomeini]” in March 2016.