Death of a prisoner in Qom Central Prison; Interview with his family

Human rights sources reported the death of political prisoner Vahid Sayadi Nasiri after continuing his hunger strike in Qom Central Prison.

Voice of America confirmed the news of his passing in an interview with some of the family members of this political prisoner.

Ms. Sadeghi, the mother of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, said in an interview with Voice of America on Wednesday, December 11: Vahid Sayadi Nasiri was arrested at home by IRGC agents on charges of political activity on August 1 of this year and was imprisoned in Langroud Prison in Qom.

Ms. Sadeghi told VOA: At 2:00 PM today, two phone calls were made to the family members of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri. In one of these calls, the mother of this political-religious prisoner was told that he had been transferred from Langrud Prison to Kamkar Hospital in Qom. In another call, the prisoner's brother was told that Mr. Sayadi Nasiri had been hospitalized in Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom.

In an interview with Voice of America, Vahid Sayadi Nasiri's mother stated that the reason for her son's death was his hunger strike of more than 50 days, and said that Mr. Sayadi Nasiri's only request was to be transferred to Evin Prison.

Since the news of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri's passing was published, his family has been unaware of the exact location of his body and are not aware of whether the body of this political-ideological prisoner has been buried or is being kept in a morgue.

Also, Saeed Sadeghi Nasiri, brother of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, told VOA: In a phone call from one of the welfare officials at Langroud Prison in Qom, Mr. Sadeghi Nasiri was told that his brother had died in the hospital and that they should go to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom to deliver the body.

Mr. Sadeghi Nasiri, upon arriving at Shahid Beheshti Hospital, was informed that his brother had died in the hospital at 8 am this morning and that his body had been transferred to the Behesht Masoumeh morgue (Qom Cemetery).

The brother of this political prisoner of conscience told VOA that this is not the first time he has been arrested. Previously, he was released from prison on unknown charges after two years in Evin and Gohardasht prisons in Karaj (Rajai Shahr) in March 2017, but was arrested again a few months later in the summer of this year and transferred to Langrud prison in Qom.

According to Article 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the judicial officer must transmit the results of his investigation to the judicial authority. If necessary, a request for legal completion can be considered, but the accused cannot be held in custody. The maximum time the accused can be held in custody is 24 hours. Beyond this time limit, any decision regarding the continuation of detention must be informed by the judicial authority.

Ms. Sadeghi also told VOA, "There are many young people like this [in society]. My young man is gone, but my only request from the authorities is that they address the demands of the young people."

Throughout the life of the Islamic Republic of Iran, political prisoners have repeatedly gone on hunger strikes, especially in the 1960s, to protest what is happening to them in prison. However, in the last two decades, these protests by political prisoners have been more widely covered by the media.

Hoda Saber, a writer and political activist of the national religious movement in Iran, was transferred to Modarres Hospital in Tehran in June 2011, after a 10-day hunger strike due to a heart condition, where she died.

One of the longest strikes among political prisoners over the past two decades was the hunger strike of Akbar Ganji, a journalist and writer imprisoned in Tehran, which lasted for about 74 days.

Mehdi Khazali, the son of Ayatollah Khazali, a former member of the Guardian Council, has been arrested and sentenced to prison many times over the past years for criticizing the government and his civic activities, but each time he went on a hunger strike to protest his arrest.

Arash Sadeghi, a student activist and political prisoner, also had one of the longest hunger strikes. He went on a hunger strike from early November 2016 to January 31, 2017, to protest the arrest of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraei.

Civil activist Atena Daemi went on a hunger strike in early 2017 after a court sentenced her and her two sisters to three months and one day in prison each on two charges of “rebellion against officials while on duty” and “insulting a government official while on duty.” Ms. Daemi, who had been demanding her sisters’ acquittal and release, ended her hunger strike after 50 days of hunger strike after the court overturned her sisters’ sentence.

Source: Voice of America