Poor physical condition of Qader Mohammadzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner, after 35 days of hunger strike
According to some human rights media, the physical condition of Qader Mohammadzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for 35 days in protest against the Mahabad prosecutor's refusal to grant his request for leave, has been declared unfavorable.
A family member of the political prisoner, who inappropriately reported Qader Mohammadzadeh's physical and health condition, told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that the court and Yazd prison officials have agreed to Qader Mohammadzadeh's request for leave, and a bail of one billion tomans has been set and handed over to the Mahabad Justice Department. However, "Mehrab Akbarpour, the Mahabad prosecutor," has opposed granting leave, calling the case a security matter.
According to this informed source, Mr. Mohammadzadeh announced in his last phone call to his family that although he has become very weak as a result of the hunger strike, he is not willing to break his hunger strike until his minimum demand is met - which is to use his right to leave after serving 16 years in prison.
This political prisoner, who has been serving his sentence in Urmia and Yazd prisons for 16 years without a single day of leave, has been on a hunger strike since August 30.
Kaveh Kermanshahi, a member of the management of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, who believes that granting leave is the least right that this political prisoner can enjoy, says: "The decision of the Mahabad prosecutor has no legal justification and is based solely on his personal opinion."
Kaveh Kermanshahi accused judicial officials in regions such as Kurdistan of using "extralegal powers" to place "prisoners and families" in difficult and torturous conditions, saying that these pressures and behaviors "are more severe in the case of prisoners who cannot afford a lawyer."
Qadir Mohammadzadeh was arrested by Intelligence Department forces in Bukan on December 10, 2005, and sentenced to death by the Mahabad Revolutionary Court on charges of "moharebeh" through membership in the Komala Party. However, this sentence was changed to 20 years in prison and exile to Yazd Central Prison by the provincial appeals court.
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, this political prisoner was sentenced to another 6 months in prison in February 2010 by the First Branch of the Mahabad Islamic Revolutionary Court in another case on the charge of "communication with foreign media".
Source: Voice of America
