Sepideh Qolyan: I haven't eaten or drank since October 18th.
Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist imprisoned in Qarchak Prison, said in an audio file attributed to her that she has been on a hunger strike since Sunday, October 19, in protest against judicial and security pressures on her family. The political prisoner has called for a delegation from the judiciary to be present at Qarchak Prison. Ms. Gholian has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Haft Tappeh protesting workers case, of which seven years must be served according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code.
Sepideh Gholian, born in 1994, a civil rights activist from Ahvaz, was arrested on November 17, 2018, during several days of protests by Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers in Khuzestan, along with Esmaeil Bakhshi, a labor activist, and a group of other workers. She was released a month later on December 17, 2018, on bail of 500 million tomans. However, after Esmaeil Bakhshi, a representative of the Haft Tappeh sugarcane factory workers, wrote on Instagram about his torture during his detention and called on the Minister of Information to answer, Sepideh Gholian also wrote on Twitter about the torture of Esmaeil Bakhshi and herself, and was arrested again on the morning of January 20, 2018. During Sepideh’s arrest, officers also arrested her brother Mehdi Gholian. Mehdi Gholian was released from Ahvaz detention center on February 1, 2018, on bail of 100 million tomans.
On the evening of January 19, a documentary called “Burnt Design” was broadcast on the 2030 News Channel of the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation (IRBC), which contained confessions from Esmaeil Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian on camera. In the program, they were introduced as being affiliated with groups opposing the Islamic Republic.
In response to the broadcast of her confessions on television, Sepideh Qolyan called for a public trial on Twitter: "These images of me that were broadcast were further evidence to prove my words that I was tortured during my detention. I will pursue my torture more seriously than before, and now that my confessions have been broadcast, I demand that my trial be held publicly." In a short video of herself, she also spoke about the pressures during her interrogation, saying that the interrogators had repeatedly intimidated and pressured her with "cables, a neck brace, and hitting her under a chair."
In an audio file attributed to Sepideh Qolyan, which journalist Shahid Alavi posted on social media, Ms. Qolyan reported on the continued harassment of her family, saying, "I have been in detention for a year, from the time I was arrested on the Haft Tappe workers' bus until now, all kinds of harassment have been directed at me, from the arrest of my brother Ismail and his beating in front of me, to my own torture, to the arrest of my brother Mehdi. I have really lost my patience. I have been on a hunger strike for three days since October 18. I have neither water nor food, and I cannot really breathe. They took my sister yesterday, questioned her, and questioned her. Her only crime is that she is my sister. They are taking my brother. Her only crime is that he is my brother. I can no longer breathe from here. Everything I do is useless. I endure it, I remain silent, it is useless. They do not let me talk to my fellow prisoners in Qarchak. They say you are provoking them."
Sepideh Qolyan said in this audio file, dated October 20: "I have been on a hunger strike since October 18. I have neither water nor food. I just want a delegation from the judiciary to come and see why I cannot breathe. They come to visit my family, they do something to them, so I tell them not to come again. I have really had enough. I want people to know what they are doing to the people in prison, what they are doing to us. I am tired, by God, I can't take it anymore. Whatever I say, I will wait, my patience will increase, but why with a person's family? I mean, don't answer me? I mean, don't talk to me? What should they do? Why doesn't the Ahvaz Intelligence stop me and my family? I just want a delegation from the judiciary to come to Qarchak Prison and see what they are doing to me and the other prisoners. "I really can't do it anymore. I'm not going to die. How old am I? All my hair has turned white since I was arrested. I'm tired. Why not with my family? They took my brother, now why my sister? How many threats? How much harassment? What did I do? What did I do at the workers' rally?"
Sepideh Qolyan is referring to the summoning and interrogation of her sister, Samaneh Qolyan, who some reports indicate was detained for several hours by the Ahvaz Intelligence Department. Previously, Sepideh Qolyan's brother, Mehdi Qolyan, was arrested by Ahvaz Intelligence Department agents at their home on January 20, 2018, and charged with four charges. Mehdi Qolyan's arrest was accompanied by severe beatings and insults by the agents, and he was accused of charges such as beating judicial officers, disobeying a judicial order, crumpling a judge's order, and insulting judicial officers, but he was acquitted of these charges.
The Haft-Tapeh Sugarcane Workers' Union announced on its Telegram channel on March 18, 2018, that the families of Esmaeil Bakhshi and Sepideh Qolyan had been summoned to the Shush Intelligence Department. According to the report, after summoning the families of the two prisoners, the Shush Intelligence Department asked them not to talk to the media, otherwise a case would be opened against "all family members."
Sepideh Qolyan also went on a hunger strike on Tuesday, August 1, to protest the inappropriate behavior of Qarchak prison guards as well as her own precarious situation.
