Six Prisoners Strike in Evin in Protest Against ‘Clear Negligence’ of Officials in Bakhtash Abtin’s Death
Six political prisoners held in Evin Prison have gone on strike since Wednesday, December 22, in protest against the “clear negligence” of authorities in the death of Bakhtash Abtin, an imprisoned poet and filmmaker, and due to the lack of response to their demands.
These six individuals include Sadegh Omidi, Hamid Haj Jafar Kashani, Mahmoud Ali Naqi, Peiman Pordad, Ali Asghar Hasani-Rad, and Mehdi Darini, political prisoners in “Ward 8” of Evin Prison.
Soheil Arabi, a former political prisoner currently in exile, announced on Thursday in a tweet that the six political prisoners have been on “complete strike” (without food or water) since Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement that reached the human rights website “Hrana,” they cited the reason for their strike as “the clear negligence of prison officials, the judiciary, and the prison organization in Bakhtash Abtin’s death,” as well as “the lack of response to their demands, including the acceptance and apology of the aforementioned officials in the country’s official media.”
Bakhtash Abtin was transferred to Evin Prison from October 27, 2020, despite warnings about his health condition, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to serve his sentence. After contracting coronavirus twice in prison and delays in his treatment, he died on December 9 at Sasan Hospital in Tehran.
Bakhtash Abtin’s death due to the neglect of Evin Prison authorities regarding his physical condition had previously occurred with other prisoners, including Behnam Mahjoubi and members of the Gonabadi Dervishes.
Recently, a number of political prisoners in Fashafuyeh and Rajai Shahr prisons also reacted in separate statements to Bakhtash Abtin’s death due to negligence by prison officials and judicial authorities. They described the current approach to treating political prisoners as a continuation of “serial killings” in the Islamic Republic.
Despite this, the Islamic Republic’s judicial authorities, without accountability for the deaths of political prisoners, claim to “respect the rights of prisoners” in prisons.
Source: Radio Farda
