Reza Khandan: Nasrin says if we are going to die, we should die with our families.

Reza Khandan, a civil activist and husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, announced in an interview with the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the prominent lawyer is on a hunger strike in Evin Prison in protest against the prevention of the release of political prisoners. Mr. Khandan told the Campaign that despite the promises of the authorities and in the context of the dangerous spread of the coronavirus in the country, most political prisoners have been deprived of leave and freedom, and Ms. Sotoudeh's hunger strike is in protest of this situation.

According to Mr. Khandan, at least four political prisoners in Evin Prison joined Nasrin Sotoudeh's hunger strike yesterday: "Rezvaneh Khanbeigi from the women's ward and Hossein Sarlak and Morteza Nazari from the political prisoners in Ward 4 of Evin Prison have also gone on a hunger strike, and their protest was against the opposition of the prosecution and security institutions to their release."

Concerns about the health of political prisoners and their lack of release on bail in these dangerous conditions and the spread of the coronavirus are increasing day by day. Although judicial authorities have claimed to have released 70,000 prisoners on parole in the country, political and prisoners of conscience are still languishing in prisons.

On March 10, UN officials, including UN Special Rapporteur Javed Rehman, followed up on these concerns and called on the Iranian government to immediately include political and ideological prisoners in these freedoms.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, in a statement from inside the prison, announced that “in the midst of the crisis that has engulfed the world and Iran, the same military and intelligence institutions that have disrupted the country’s security by imposing their belligerent managements continue to insist on continuing to imprison political prisoners in the current dangerous conditions, so that the disaster deepens and spreads even further and the storm of this deadly virus destroys political prisoners or their families.”

According to Ms. Sotoudeh, “All the actions show that no other institution is making decisions in this regard except the police and security institutions, and it was these institutions that threw the country into the depths of collapse and confusion. It is a national necessity that many of the country’s prison wards, including the women’s ward of Evin Prison, be closed, and it is a national necessity that the government reconcile with the world so that it can benefit from the benefits of science and technology to combat the coronavirus. Since all legal and judicial correspondence to remind us of the necessity of releasing prisoners has remained unanswered, I am reiterating my demand for the release of political prisoners by going on a hunger strike as a prisoner’s last resort.”

Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, said in an interview with the campaign: “The situation we are in now is very, very special, as if we have reached the end of the world and are not in normal conditions, especially our country is in very unusual conditions. I understand that the virus was first in China and has also reached Italy, South Korea and various countries, but without this virus we were living in miserable conditions and were struggling with death despite an incompetent and oppressive system, poverty and very high inflation. In this situation, the disease has entered the country and the country where the disease is rampant did not stop its flights to China and then did not restrict the infected cities and did not have any plan. The virus has spread throughout the country and people are in danger and there is no possibility of life. Now imagine if a family member is in prison, they do not even have the opportunity to call regularly, just to talk for 5 minutes a day to see if they are alive or dead.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh's husband referred to her opposition to the hunger strike of political prisoner Farhad Meysami and told the campaign: "A few months ago, during Farhad Meysami's hunger strike, Nasrin was begging you not to go on it, it's dangerous. In fact, she said I won't do it again either. But now the situation is special. Political prisoners are also worried about themselves, and they are more worried about their families than themselves. They think that if they were outside, they could protect their families and children, and now inside the prison they are waiting for news of something bad happening from outside at any moment. Prisons are also not in good conditions. The enemy of this disease is to separate people from each other, to quarantine them, and what causes the spread of this disease is gatherings. Prisons also mean gatherings and have no other meaning, and our prisons are overcrowded prisons. I myself was imprisoned in a room with 60 people. It's not like you can separate your bowl and say that my room is separate and I'm quarantined. When a patient enters these prisons, they don't get out that easily, and they brought things to a point where Nasrin, who was against the hunger strike, was arrested yesterday. "They prepared a statement with Ms. Nahid Behshid and both wanted to go on strike, but as soon as this happened, they told Ms. Behshid to bring bail for leave. Of course, Ms. Behshid is still on strike until she comes out."

Reza Khandan reported that two female guards were hospitalized due to the coronavirus and told the campaign: “What is very important about prison wards is that the entrances are strictly controlled, meaning that no new prisoners are allowed to enter unless they have been quarantined for two weeks, and secondly, that there are facilities for disinfecting prison equipment and supplies. However, in such circumstances, the hospitalization of female guards has added to the concerns.”

He explained the reason for Nasrin Sotoudeh’s emphasis on the release of political prisoners as follows: “Non-political prisoners are normally given more leave than the law allows and are easily granted conditional release. We are not saying that they should not be given leave, but they should be given it, but our emphasis is on political prisoners who are completely innocent and have been imprisoned for just one criticism. Many of them have not even criticized, such as environmentalists who have not criticized at all, have not written anything against the government, and have not done anything political. Some are hostages, and some have written a few articles on Telegram or Facebook, or are lawyers who have been imprisoned for defending political prisoners. We are not saying that if they come out, it will be a breeze, but Nasrin says that if we are going to die, we should die next to our families. Shouldn’t you abandon us in this situation?”

Source: Human Rights Campaign