Two political prisoners in Karaj Central Prison went on hunger strike
Mehdi Farahi Shandiz and Mohammad Riazat, two political prisoners imprisoned in Karaj Central Penitentiary, went on a hunger strike to protest the poor conditions of the prison.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, these two political prisoners, who are serving their sentences in Karaj Central Prison, were transferred to solitary confinement on Friday, October 16, after they went on a hunger strike on Thursday, October 15 to protest the poor sanitary conditions, lack of hot water, and lack of facilities in the prison.
According to this report, Mohammad Riazat and Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, previously in mid-September, along with two other political prisoners named "Amirali Moradi" and "Alireza Barzegar", wrote in a letter addressed to Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, about the poor conditions of this prison, the existence of widespread corruption, rape, and drug distribution in this prison.
According to available information, Mohammad Riazat was arrested in Karaj during the nationwide protests of August last year and was temporarily released after posting bail until the end of the proceedings.
This political prisoner was sentenced to three years in prison by Mehdi Zeinali, head of the Fourth Branch of the Karaj Revolutionary Court, on charges of "insulting the founder and leadership" and "propaganda against the system." He has been detained since December 9 of this year to serve the sentence and transferred to the Karaj Central Penitentiary.
According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which stipulates the aggregation of sentences, only two years of this sentence can be enforced as the maximum penalty.
Mehdi Farahi Shandiz was also sentenced to three years in prison after his arrest by Judge Moghiseh, head of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, on charges of “insulting the leadership” and “disturbing public order.” This sentence was issued despite the fact that, according to published information, this political prisoner was not aware of the hearing, and the sentence was not communicated to him or his lawyer, and was directly recorded in the prisoner’s status report.
This political prisoner was tried in two other separate cases on February 15, 2014, in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati, and in May 2011, in a court session presided over by Judge Moghiseh, on charges of "insulting the leadership." He was sentenced to three years in prison for each of these cases, and has now been sentenced to a total of nine years in prison.
Previously, six political prisoners, namely Hossein Sarlak, Morteza Nazari Sedehi, Mohsen Aminpour, Reza Bazazadeh, Behrouz Zare, and Reza Mohammad Hosseini, launched a hunger strike by publishing an open letter on Monday, July 14, protesting the wrong practices and inadequate conditions of prisoners in all matters, even regarding food rations.
Atefeh Rangriz, a women's and workers' rights activist imprisoned in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, has also been on a hunger strike since Wednesday, October 14, to protest the unfair process of handling her case.
The US State Department has repeatedly condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters and opponents of the regime under various pretexts, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
