44 Days of Hunger Strike by Rasoul Razavi in Karaj Prison

Rasoul Razavi, an Azerbaijani activist imprisoned in Karaj Prison, is currently on his 44th day of hunger strike. According to his brother, he is being held in a solitary cell measuring one and a half by two and a half meters, and is "deprived of basic necessities and even bathing." Ayoub Razavi, Rasoul's brother, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that after much effort, he managed to have a brief visit with his brother on Tuesday, November 15. "Upon entering, I could not recognize Rasoul because he has become extremely thin and weak due to the 44-day hunger strike. Additionally, the authorities at Karaj Prison are not providing enough liquids to him and Morteza Moradpour," another Azerbaijani activist. Previously, he was imprisoned in Tabriz but was later transferred to Karaj Prison. Naghi Mahmoudi, a lawyer and human rights activist residing in Germany, who has represented many Azerbaijani political prisoners in the past, told Radio Farda that "the rights of prisoners and convicts are violated in various ways in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The transfer of convicts from the prison where the crime was committed and where they reside to another prison is done for the purpose of harassment and torture. While the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's prisons do not authorize prison officials to transfer convicts from the prison where they are serving their sentence to another prison, as this causes hardship for the families of prisoners during visits." According to Ayoub Razavi, his brother and Morteza Moradpour have been deprived of phone contact and visits, and he was only able to have a short meeting with his imprisoned brother after multiple follow-ups over several weeks. Mahmoudi stated that depriving a prisoner of bathing and personal hygiene, or not providing enough water and liquids, sugar, and salt also constitutes "forms of torture." In June of this year, Rasoul Razavi had gone on a hunger strike for 28 days, which he ended after prison officials in Tabriz and the supervising judge promised to address his requests. However, after the hunger strike ended, the promised actions were not taken, and twelve days ago, he and Morteza Moradpour were transferred from Tabriz Prison to Karaj Prison.