Six Political Prisoners Declare Hunger Strike in Protest Against Unfair Trials and Prison Conditions

Six political prisoners named “Hossein Sarolk,” “Morteza Nazari Sedhi,” “Mohsen Aminpour,” “Reza Bazazadeh,” “Behrouz Zare,” and “Reza Mohammadhosseini” announced through an open letter that they have begun a hunger strike in protest against unfair judicial proceedings and prison conditions.

According to reports published on social media networks, these six political prisoners in Ward 4 of Evin Prison announced through an open letter that since Monday, July 15th (24 Tir), they have begun a hunger strike protesting incorrect procedures and unsuitable conditions for prisoners in all respects, including food rations, and will continue this protest until their demands are met.

In this open letter, the six prisoners, citing the failure of prison organization regulations to be implemented by authorities, called for “separation of political prisoners from other inmates, acceptance of conditional release, removal of security designation and official recognition, judges of the Revolutionary Court not showing favoritism toward lawyers, right to legal representation from the initial arrest until the final stage of the case, annulment of all death sentences and lengthy multi-year sentences, swift implementation of bail posting with reasonable bail until trial, and careful and proper examination of the nutritional status and food rations” of political prisoners.

This is not the first time that political prisoners have gone on hunger strike in protest against the judicial system’s performance and conditions of political prisoners in Iran’s prisons.

Previously, “Amir Hossein Mohammadifard,” editor-in-chief of Gam magazine, who has been in detention since December 10th of last year along with his wife “Sanaz Ilhiyari,” sent an open letter from Evin Prison addressed to Mohammad Moghisseh, the judge of his case, demanding his and his wife Sanaz Ilhiyari’s release on bail pending trial.

“Soheil Arabi,” an imprisoned civil activist who has been serving his seven-year sentence in Tehran’s Great Prison (Fashafuyeh) since 2013, began a hunger strike on June 15th and announced through a letter that he was launching a new movement and boycott.

“Ruhollah Mardani,” an imprisoned teacher in Evin, also in protest against prison problems and non-compliance with prisoners’ rights, including denial of conditional release and furlough, has been on a dry hunger strike since late March of last year. This imprisoned teacher has repeatedly gone on hunger strike over the past two years.

According to an Amnesty International report in 2018, more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minorities’ rights activists, were arrested in Iran, and hundreds were sentenced to prison.

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violent treatment and widespread suppression of protesters and regime opponents on various pretexts, as well as repeated and continuous violations of Iranian citizens’ rights by the regime ruling the country.

Source: Voice of America