Deteriorating Physical Condition of Atena Daemi Due to Hunger Strike

The mother of Atena Daemi, a human rights activist held in Evin Prison, says her daughter’s condition has worsened due to her continued hunger strike and she is facing numerous physical problems.

Atena Daemi is spending her seventeenth day of hunger strike today, Monday, the fourth of Ordibehesht, in the women’s ward of Evin Prison. Her mother, who visited her yesterday, has stressed that “the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the judiciary, and the prosecutor’s office are responsible for Atena’s life”.

Massoumeh Nemati told the Hrana news agency about her visit with Atena Daemi: “We visited Atena today [Sunday]. She was not in good condition at all. She has lost approximately 10 kilograms and is suffering from kidney pain, nausea, and dizziness. The prison doctor said there is a possibility that an infection has entered her bloodstream. Her tongue was yellowish and her nails had turned blue.”

Atena Daemi has stated that the reason for her hunger strike is to protest the conviction of her two sisters, Ansieh and Hanieh Daemi, and says that the Islamic Republic is taking the families of political prisoners as hostages.

Tehran Criminal Court has sentenced Ansieh and Hanieh Daemi to three months and one day in prison on charges of “insulting officials” during Atena Daemi’s arrest, suspended for up to one year. Atena Daemi is demanding the annulment of this sentence.

Meanwhile, her mother told Hrana that starting Monday, Atena “wants to hold a sit-in in front of the ward’s supervising officer’s office and if she receives no response, she will resort to a dry hunger strike”.

Atena Daemi has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of “assembly and conspiracy and propaganda activities against the state,” “insulting sacred values and the leader,” and “concealing evidence of crime.”.

However, human rights groups and organizations, including Amnesty International, emphasize that the reason for her conviction is “writing posts on Facebook criticizing executions, drawing paintings criticizing executions on walls, visiting the graves of those killed in the 2009 election, and providing information about political prisoners.”

Source: Radio Farda