Amir Sattari Rauf, a civil activist, went on a hunger strike in Tabriz Central Prison.

Amir Sattari Rauf, an Azerbaijani activist in Tabriz Central Prison, went on a hunger strike to protest the "delay in processing the case and the flaws in it."

According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Azerbaijani activist Amir Sattari Rauf announced his hunger strike on Monday, June 10, in a phone call with his relatives, due to the "delay in processing the case and the flaws in it," and said: "The flaws in his case are the result of extralegal interference by the security forces."

Amir Sattari, who is one of the detainees of the nationwide protests in January 2017 in Tabriz, was previously sentenced to 7 months in prison by Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on charges of "gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security" and has been serving his sentence in Tabriz Prison since July 9, 2018. While serving his sentence in another case, he was sentenced to 6 months in prison on charges of "media activity."

This civil activist, who had previously been tried along with Javad Ahmadi Yekanli and Oldoz Ghasemi in Branch 103 of the Naqadeh Criminal Court on charges of "propaganda against the regime, inviting others to participate in ceremonies, and using a shawl as a symbol," was acquitted of the charges.

According to a report by Amnesty International, in 2018, more than seven thousand people, including participants in demonstrations, students, journalists, women's rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minority rights activists, were arrested in Iran, and hundreds were sentenced to prison.

Source: Voice of America