Forty-one Days of Hunger Strike in Protest of Baktash Abtin’s Death; Two Political Prisoners Transferred to Prison Clinic
Hamid Hajjafarkashani and Mohammad Abolhasani were transferred to the clinic of Tehran’s Greater Prison on the forty-first day of their hunger strike due to severe drops in blood pressure.
These two are among political prisoners who began a hunger strike following the death of Baktash Abtin.
Baktash Abtin, who was transferred to a hospital in mid-December following the exacerbation of coronavirus symptoms, died at the hospital on Saturday, December 9. His death was followed by widespread criticism of Iran’s judicial and security apparatus.
About ten days after Mr. Abtin’s death, a number of political prisoners in Qarchak Varamin, Greater Tehran, and Evin prisons went on hunger strike.
Their goal in the hunger strike is “appropriate and deterrent action against those responsible for killing Baktash Abtin and all prisoners who lost their lives as a result of torture and negligence by prison officials.”
Shakila Manfared, Sina Beheshti, Saeed Tamjidi, Hamid Hajjafarkashani, and Mohammad Abolhasani are five political prisoners in Qarchak Varamin and Greater Tehran prisons who have gone on hunger strike, and their physical condition has been reported as critical.
Previously, more than 650 civil and political activists inside and outside Iran, by writing an open letter addressed to five political prisoners who are on hunger strike, urged them to end their hunger strike in order to preserve their lives.
Source: Voice of America
