A Political Prisoner Dies Due to Hunger Strike in Qom Prison

On Wednesday, December 21, officials at Qom Prison informed the family of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, a political prisoner held in this prison, of his death. According to Elahe Sayadi Nasiri, the sister of this political prisoner, her brother had been on a hunger strike in recent days in protest against his conditions in Qom Prison and his request for transfer to Evin Prison. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri was first arrested in September 2015. Thirteen months after his arrest, he went on a hunger strike in protest against the uncertainty of his case. His charges included 'insulting sacred beliefs, insulting the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and propaganda against the regime,' which mainly stemmed from his activities on social media, particularly Facebook. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri served his sentence in Evin Prison in Tehran and Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. He was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison in a primary court, but was released in April this year due to a Nowruz pardon after serving two and a half years. However, this political and ideological prisoner’s freedom lasted only a few months, and in August this year, the intelligence department of Qom city arrested him again. This political prisoner was transferred to Fashafouyeh Prison a week after his second arrest and after completing interrogations, but shortly after, he was moved to Qom Coastal Prison. Mr. Sayadi Nasiri had been on a hunger strike since October this year in protest against the failure to separate prisoners according to their crimes. According to Elahe Sayadi Nasiri, during the second arrest, her brother's charges had not even been addressed in court. After enduring more than 50 days of hunger strike and deteriorating health, he was transferred to the hospital. According to Ms. Nasiri, prison officials contacted the family and told them to come to Behesht-e Masoumeh in Qom to collect his body. Judicial officials have not yet responded to this news.