Sixth Day of Sepideh Qolian’s Hunger Strike; This Civil Activist Has Developed “Mobility Impairment”
As civil activist Sepideh Qolian, a prisoner in Iran, enters the sixth day of her hunger strike, reports indicate severe weakness in this detainee to the extent that she is unable to move without a wheelchair.
The Haft Tappeh Detainees Support Campaign reported on Sunday, August 6, that Sepideh Qolian, a civil activist who began a hunger strike from the beginning of August, is under pressure from the prison warden and the supervising prosecutor to break her hunger strike, while no measures have been taken to address her demands.
According to the report, Ms. Qolian has “consumed absolutely no food or water for six days and from the second day of the hunger strike has suffered severe weakness and fatigue to the extent that she is unable to move independently and is using a wheelchair.”
Previously, Mehdi Qolian, brother of civil activist Sepideh Qolian, announced on Friday, July 25, that Ms. Qolian lost consciousness on the fourth day of her hunger strike due to digestive system disorders and severe drop in blood pressure, and was transferred to the prison infirmary.
He also reported “inappropriate and insulting behavior by prison health care staff” toward this civil activist prisoner.
In protest of insults by Qarchak prison officials toward her family and in support of Amirhossein Mohammadi Fard and Sanaz Allahyari, she will begin a dry hunger strike.
Sepideh Qolian was arrested last November during protests by workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Company alongside labor activist Esmail Bakhshi. After their release, the two announced that they were tortured during detention and forced to make “forced confessions.” Ms. Qolian and Esmail Bakhshi were arrested for a second time in early February following these statements.
Previously, the U.S. State Department’s Persian-language Twitter account criticized the arrest of Iranian labor activists on International Workers’ Day (May 1), stating “The Islamic Republic regime, with the amount it has spent in Syria, could have paid workers’ wages in Iran.”
Source: Voice of America
