Manouchehr Bakhtiari's message from prison and emphasis on the continuation of the hunger strike
In continuation of the hunger strike of a number of political prisoners in Iran, Manouchehr Bakhtiari, father of Dadkhah Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the suppression of the November 2019 protests, emphasized the continuation of his hunger strike and called on other political prisoners to join this protest movement.
According to an audio file attributed to Manouchehr Bakhtiari, released on Wednesday, May 11, by the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Mr. Bakhtiari emphasized that he had been on a hunger strike for eight days and said that two days after the announcement, prison authorities transferred him from Hall Six, Financial Ward, to Hall Seven, Special Crimes Ward.
He also added that during his time in Karaj Prison, prison authorities moved him to different wards "15 times."
Pouya Bakhtiari's father cited the reason for his hunger strike as "protesting the interference of security forces in judicial matters, the lack of independence of the judiciary in Iran, deprivation of citizenship rights, and illegal conviction for seeking justice," and said: "I have been imprisoned innocently" and "I have been deprived of all civil and social rights, such as the right to contact, visit, and fresh air."
Referring to his previous 14-day hunger strike, he added: "The prosecutor came and said I will give you leave and the right to call and visit, break your strike. I agreed and broke the strike, but the security officers intervened and did not let the prosecutor give you leave."
Also, according to an audio message attributed to Siamak Montazeri, a political prisoner from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, he has also announced a "food and medicine strike" in protest of the behavior of prison officials.
This political prisoner, who was arrested on May 1 at a teachers' rally in Mashhad, says in this message that "because he refused to sign a letter of repentance" due to "supporting the Pahlavi dynasty," the Revolutionary Court issued him a bail of "50 billion tomans" and then transferred him to the "dangerous prisoners' ward."
Mr. Montazeri emphasizes that he suffered "two heart attacks" last year and that "stopping his medication" "risks death." This is despite the fact that he was "mistreated and verbally abused" by a doctor in the prison's infirmary on Tuesday.
Human rights sources have also reported that Ismail Abdi suffered a severe drop in blood pressure on the tenth day of his hunger strike.
Eskandar Lotfi, Masoud Nikkhah, Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, Sasan Mechanic, Mehdi Bayrami, Yashar Tabrizi, Zaratasht Ahmadi Ragheb, and Farhad Meysami are among the other prisoners on hunger strike.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadi Ragheb, in a message from prison, called for the death sentence of Ahmad Reza Jalali, a prisoner with dual nationality, to be overturned.
