Atefeh Rangriz, Civil Activist, Goes on Hunger Strike in Prison to Protest Unfair Legal Proceedings
Atefeh Rangriz, a women’s and labor rights activist imprisoned in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, has begun a hunger strike to protest the unjust handling of her case.
According to a report by the Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners, Atefeh Rangriz, who was recently sentenced to eleven years and six months in prison and 74 lashes, has been on a hunger strike since Wednesday, October 15, to protest the unfair legal proceedings in her case.
Based on this report and according to labor sources, this women’s and labor rights activist has been repeatedly denied her legal rights through unlawful procedures during her detention, and throughout this period has pursued all possible means to restore fair legal proceedings in her case.
Ms. Rangriz was arrested during International Workers’ Day gatherings in front of the Iranian Parliament and was later transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin.
The hearing of this labor activist’s case took place on August 5 in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, where Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, head of that branch, sentenced Atefeh Rangriz to eleven years and six months in prison and 74 lashes on charges including “assembly and conspiracy against national security” and “disruption of public order.”
Previously, this labor activist wrote a letter from Qarchak Prison in Varamin describing the living conditions and circumstances in the prison, comparing the wards of Qarchak Prison to a train and the rooms of each ward to train cabins, writing that “Qarchak is an alias for hell.”
Earlier, two political prisoners named Ibrahim Khalili Hamadani and his son Salar Khalili Hamadani, who were recently each sentenced to 16 years in prison, began a hunger strike on Wednesday, September 24, in protest of their sentences in Urmia Central Prison.
Youssef Nadarkhani, an imprisoned pastor and member of the Church of Iran, has also begun a hunger strike since Monday, September 22, in protest of the suspension of his children’s education and schools’ refusal to register them for the new academic year in Evin Prison.
Previously, Amnesty International released a statement on the occasion of International Workers’ Day (May 1), calling on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to immediately release workers and civil activists who were detained during strikes and other peaceful protests.
The U.S. State Department has also stated that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, workers’ representatives, and other groups over the past two years.
Additionally, the U.S. State Department issued a statement in April of this year strongly condemning the severe repression of civil rights activists in Iran by the Islamic Republic regime and called for an end to the harassment, torture, and imprisonment of these activists, including women who are merely demanding their basic and fundamental rights.
Source: Voice of America
