Khaled Pirzadeh, a political prisoner and former bodybuilding champion, has attempted suicide after being denied medical care at Tehran's Evin prison.

Pirzadeh's suicide attempt occurred shortly after he released an audio message from prison, in which he accused authorities of depriving him of essential medications, including those for seizures and asthma.

He also noted that his sciatica pain had worsened significantly due to the lack of treatment.

An Instagram account associated with Pirzadeh reported that after his suicide attempt, he was taken to a hospital, where his wounds were stitched, before being sent back to prison.

In January last year, Pirzadeh was sentenced to a total of five years for “assembly and collusion against national security” and an additional eight months for “propaganda against the regime.”

Last year, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) published a report which said that inmates in Ward Four of Evin Prison were suffering from severe overcrowding, abysmal hygiene, and hunger, most of whom were political detainees.