TEHRAN – Atena Farghadani, the Iranian woman sentenced to imprisonment of twelve-and-a-half years over a political cartoon, is demonstrating symptoms of lymphatic disease, according to her lawyer Mohammad Moghimi.  The artist has previously suffered a heart attack while on hunger strike in the maximum-security prison.

Atena Farghadani, pictured prior being sentenced to Iran’s highest-security prison over her drawing (Facebook.)

Farghadani was charged and sentenced with “insulting members of parliament through paintings” and “spreading propaganda against the system” last year.

In January, while on a temporary release, Farghadani posted a video to Youtube in which she described being tortured at the hands of the prison’s guards.  In it, she looks resilient, rather than defeated, as she gives her testimony.

Within days of the video going online, Atena Farghadani was taken back to prison.

The 29-year-old artist bore witness to the conditions of her imprisonment in a January video.  She was immediately rearrested, and has remained detained since. (Youtube.)

The artist’s lawyer is hopeful that Farghadani’s persistent medical issues will aid in their hope for an appeal.  Her case has been in the appeals process for some months, but neither she nor her lawyer knows when to expect the chance to fight her sentence.

Last month, Farghadani and her lawyer were charged with the crime of indecency for shaking hands.  He trial has been presided over by Judge Salvati, the man infamous as Iran’s most harsh opponent of human rights.

This cartoon of Iran’s parliament as cows and monkeys was the only offense leading to Atena Farghadani’s imprisonment of over 12 years (Facebook.)

“The illness showed up recently and we are waiting to see if they send her to a specialist or to the prison infirmary,” Moghimi told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.  “We hope that considering her health issues, the sentence against her will be changed in appeals court.”

The specific type of lymphatic disease is still unknown, and it is yet unclear as to whether or not the artist’s symptoms could be cancerous.  The Voice Project is tracking the artist’s health and the state of her appeal, and will post updates as they arise.