Pressure Likely to Be Applied on Reza Shahabi to Break His Hunger Strike in Prison
In response to Reza Shahabi’s wife requesting a visit to dissuade the imprisoned labor activist from continuing his hunger strike, judicial authorities stated that “We will break Shahabi’s hunger strike ourselves.”
According to a report from the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburban Bus Company, on Tuesday, June 24, Rababe Rezaei, wife of Reza Shahabi and a member of this syndicate, went to the prosecutor’s office at Evin Prison to request a visit with him, but judicial authorities did not grant permission for the meeting.
Based on the report, Ms. Rezaei asked the interrogator if she could meet with her husband so that, given “his severe physical condition,” she could “persuade him to end his hunger strike,” but the interrogating officer responded to her saying “the interrogator will not permit you a visit and said we will break Shahabi’s hunger strike ourselves.”
The Workers’ Syndicate of the United Company has deemed this manner of response by judicial authorities as “an instance of harassment and torture of the prisoner’s family” and has “strongly condemned any threats and pressure from judicial officials.” The syndicate has also called for the unconditional release of Reza Shahabi and Hassan Saeidi, two members held in detention by the syndicate.
Mr. Shahabi announced a hunger strike on Monday, June 23, in protest of “case-fabrication and unlawful detention, multiple and lengthy interrogations, interrogator threats, lack of medical care and inappropriate conditions in Ward 209 of Evin where the number of prisoners is several times the capacity of the room.”
Reza Shahabi is detained in Ward 209 of Evin with underlying medical conditions, and according to previous reports, his blood pressure “constantly fluctuates between 16 and 18” and “he regularly experiences numbness in the left side of his body and face.”
Findings also indicate that the arrest warrant for this imprisoned labor activist, who was arrested on April 11, was extended for another month on June 13.
Source: Voice of America
