Zoroastrian prisoner Hossein Spanta's physical condition declared critical as hunger strike continues
"Hossein Spanta", a Zoroastrian citizen and prisoner from Shiraz, is in poor physical condition following a hunger strike in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
The Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners reported on Thursday, June 13, that the physical condition of Hossein Spanta, a Zoroastrian citizen in prison who has been on a hunger strike since May 2, 2019, due to his disagreement with his conditional release and request for leave, is reported to be critical.
According to the report, this prisoner, who is on the 53rd day of his hunger strike, suffered serious injuries to his chest and spinal cord in 2000 due to a sudden blow from one of the interrogators during an interrogation session, causing him to lose half of his mobility at the same time. Currently, prison and judicial officials are opposing his release and request for conditional release.
Hossein Spanta was arrested by the IRGC Intelligence in 2000 on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and released from prison the same year after six months. He was arrested again in 2013 for the second time by intelligence agents after returning from a trip abroad and sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison without a lawyer in court. This sentence was reduced to 10 years on appeal.
According to the campaign, Hossein Spanta has also been denied visitation rights in recent months.
This is not the first time a prisoner has gone on a hunger strike in Iranian prisons. Prisoner-turned-activist Abbas Lesani has been on a hunger strike since June 26 of this year to protest the lack of access to his case summary.
Ruhollah Mardani, a teacher imprisoned in Evin, has also been on a hunger strike since late March to protest the prison's problems and the lack of respect for prisoners' rights, including the denial of parole and leave. The imprisoned teacher has gone on hunger strike several times over the past two years.
In May of this year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom published its latest annual report on the state of religious freedom in various countries around the world, including Iran.
The report states that in August 2018, the Iran Action Group at the US State Department issued a report on the repression and targeting of religious minorities by the Islamic Republic regime, stating that Baha'is, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Sunnis, and Dervishes widely face discrimination, unfair trials, and unjust prison sentences.
Source: Voice of America
