Concerns Mount After 15 Days Without News of Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb; “Prison Officer” Broke Sohila Hejab’s Nose

According to a civil rights activist, concerns about the health condition of Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb, a political prisoner in Rajaei Shahr Prison who has had no contact with his relatives over the past fifteen days, and Sohila Hejab, a political prisoner in Kermanshah Prison, have increased.

Yashar Tabrizian, a civil rights activist in Iran, described Ahmadi Ragheb’s condition as “very alarming” in an interview with the Farsi section of Voice of America on Tuesday, April 9. Stating that this imprisoned civil activist has had “no contact” over the past fifteen days, he said that another prisoner in contact from that prison reported that he was transferred to a suite with inappropriate sanitary conditions designated for prisoners awaiting execution as a form of “psychological and mental torture.”

According to this civil rights activist, Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb was on a hunger strike for 35 days before his arrest in “solidarity with detained rights seekers,” and now 36 days have passed since his arrest. He announced during his detention that he would go on a hunger strike. With more than 70 days having passed since his hunger strike began, Ahmadi Ragheb’s physical condition, particularly for his family, is “very concerning.”

The continued lack of news about Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb and mounting concerns about his health come at a time when this political prisoner announced in an audio message from prison on March 7 that he would continue his protest hunger strike until his last breath.

Zaratosht Ahmadi Ragheb is one of the signatories of a 14-signature letter calling for Ali Khamenei’s resignation and a transition away from the Islamic Republic. Ahmadi Ragheb was arrested for the nth time on February 21 and transferred to solitary confinement in Evin Prison. After continuing his protests, he was transferred to Tehran’s Greater Prison in the section for criminals, and subsequently was transferred to Rajaei Shahr Prison.

• Sohila Hejab Has Closed Her Eyes and Sewn Her Lips in Protest Against Prison Officials’ Treatment

Yashar Tabrizian also spoke about Sohila Hejab’s condition in Kermanshah Prison, saying that the family of this political prisoner went from Tehran to Kermanshah on April 6 for a visit, but prison authorities did not allow her mother a visit and announced that she could only meet with other family members.

According to Mr. Tabrizian, during the transfer of this political prisoner for the visit, she was asked to remove her clothes for a body search, but her resistance resulted in a confrontation with the escorting officer, and as a result of this officer’s physical contact, Ms. Hejab’s nose was broken.

Yashar Tabrizian added that following this incident, Ms. Hejab refused to attend the visit and now in a protest action has “taped her eyes shut and sewn her lips.” This is while she suffers from a heart condition and according to medical opinion should be granted medical leave.

This civil rights activist defending political prisoners’ rights also explained the situation of Khaled Pirzadeh: that this bodybuilding champion imprisoned in Shiban Prison in Ahvaz has a very serious condition with spinal cord complications and heart disease. He has lost a significant amount of weight and despite the objections of the prison prosecutor and a person named “Amin Vaziri,” he remains imprisoned.

Mr. Tabrizian, mentioning Abbas Vahidian, Javad Laali Mohammadi, and Manouchehr Bakhtiari, urged the public not to remain indifferent to the situation of these political prisoners.