IRAN: Save Lives of Hunger Striking Political Prisoners in Iran

Concerns rising over the lives of hunger striking political prisoners

IRAN:  The Italian Parliamentary and Citizens' Committee for a Free Iran expresses its deep concern at the serious conditions of 21 Iranian prisoners on hunger strike - many for about a month - in the Raja'i-shahr (Gohardasht) prison in the city of Karaj, west of the capital of Tehran, according to a 17 August press release by the group.

“Their protest denounces the inhuman conditions in which they are detained and how they are treated repressively by the prison authorities. On July 30, these authorities deprived them of their personal belongings (including essential medicines) and violently transferred them to another section of the prison with more worse conditions.”

“They are now subjected to constant monitoring with closed-circuit cameras and eavesdropping devices everywhere, without any privacy. Their cells have windows covered with metal plates and very little ventilation. The detainees do not have access to drinking water. They are forbidden to visit family members or have phone contact with them. A number of the prisoners have been kept in isolation for up to 12 days.”

“Among them are human rights activists, students, journalists, trade unionists, and followers of the Baha'i community - all condemned by political processes and not by the commission of common crimes.”

“The Italian Committee of Parliamentarians and Citizens for a Free Iran therefore calls on the Italian Government and the institutions of the European Union to ask the Iranian authorities to respect the lives and fundamental rights of the political prisoners, and to allow independent and effective international monitoring of their condition by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other relevant international institutions.”

Meanwhile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI ) reported the health of these political prisoners, who are in Hall 10 of Section 4 of Gohardasht prison, has worsened. They have become very weak and are suffering from hypertension, as well as severe headaches due to lack proper air circulation in the isolated cells and the hall.

The authorities in the prison intensified the pressure on striking political prisoners after Tehran prosecutor’s shameless reaction to the extensive expression of solidarity with striking political prisoners inside and outside of the country.

“The judiciary would not succumb to the hunger strike of prisoners,” said Tehran’s general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, who is subject to sanctions by the European Union for serious human rights violations.

In many Western cities, Iranians have held rallies, as well as protest and hunger strikes, demanding international support for the demands of striking political prisoners.

Inside Iran, many political activists, political prisoners in various prisons, workers, and teachers have expressed support for political prisoners who are on hunger strike in Gohardasht prison.

International human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Hands Off Cain, have called for the rights of prisoners to be respected.

The Italian Parliamentary and Citizens' Committee for a Free Iran enjoys the support of many Italian politicians, members of the parliament and senate, as well as human rights activists.

Iranian Resistance Calls for Urgent Action to Save Lives of Hunger Striking Political Prisoners

Many of the prisoners on hunger strike do not have the strength to stand on their feet and have fainted repeatedly.

The health of many of political prisoners who are on their 24th day of hunger strike in Gohardasht prison to protest their inhumane conditions has deteriorated.

On Monday, August 21, Mr. Hassan Sadeghi, who is suffering from glaucoma due to the severe blows he received from prison authorities, was transferred to Farabi Hospital in southern Tehran.

Mr. Sadeghi’s eyesight has diminished severely. Physicians believe he is facing the danger of losing his eyesight due to pressure build up.

Mr. Hassan Sadeghi was last arrested for the third time in 2015 for supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

Many of the prisoners on hunger strike do not have the strength to stand on their feet and have fainted repeatedly.

 

    A number of political prisoners have been arrested in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj

In the meantime, prison authorities once again transferred another hunger striking political prisoner Amir Qaziani to solitary confinement.

The authorities refrain from providing any information to the families of the hunger striking political prisoners, who seek information about their loved ones. A known official of the Iranian regime in the Gohardasht Prison, Haj Moradi, referred the families to the Prisons Organization in Tehran, but once they arrived at the location, another official named Mohebi ordered them out of the facility and refused to provide them any information.

The Iranians Resistance warns about the dangers to the health and safety of the striking prisoners, who are suffering from various illnesses after spending many years behind bars under excruciating conditions in the regime’s prisons.

The Iranian Resistance calls for urgent action by international human rights organizations, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Human Rights Council to take action to save the lives of these political prisoners.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

Iran: Hunger striking political prisoners in dire conditions, call for urgent action

National Council of Resistance of Iran

Twenty days have passed since the day when at least 18 political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison of Karaj, west of Tehran, launched a hunger strike. Their conditions are reported as very dire. These prisoners began protesting on July 30 following a vicious attack by authorities on the inmates of hall 12 in ward 4. Their personal items and money were stolen, and they were transferred to hall 10 of this ward where they are kept under harsh conditions. These political prisoners are demanding their return to hall 12 and all personal belongings and money returned. The authorities broke the prisoners’ eyeglasses, stole their purchasing cards and used all their credits in the prison store.
These political prisoners, who mostly can barely walk, are suffering from heart, lung, kidney and other illnesses. Many of them are also dealing with chronic headaches and nerve illnesses due to the authorities’ installation of jamming signals in the facility. They are deprived of any medicine. Even the extremely expensive medication purchased by their families outside of the prison are confiscated or stolen by prison authorities.
These hunger striking prisoners are under constant restrictions, threatened to be retransferred to solitary confinement and face other pressures by the authorities. The death row prisoners are also threatened to be executed sooner if they continue their hunger strike.
Dozens of closed circuit cameras and sound surveillance devices have been installed in hall 10 to place even further pressure on these prisoners, have them under 24/7 control and prevent any news about their conditions leaking out of the prison.
Those prisoners suffering from breathing illnesses are seeing their conditions deteriorate during the summer heat due to the lack of air conditioning devices and all windows being sealed with metal plates, preventing any air ventilation.
The lack of hygiene necessities such as soap have led to the spread of skin diseases amongst the prisoners who already lack adequate clothing.
Warning about the lives of these hunger striking political prisoners in Gohardasht and emphasizing the religious fascism ruling Iran is responsible for any damages inflicted to their health, the Iranian Resistance calls upon the international community, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran to take urgent action regarding their conditions and save their lives.