Abdol-Fattah Soltani, Imprisoned Lawyer, Announces Hunger Strike Decision

Abdol-Fattah Soltani, a lawyer and human rights defender who has been imprisoned since September 2011 on charges such as 'propaganda against the regime,' announced that he will go on a hunger strike starting from April 1 in protest against the actions of the Ministry of Intelligence under Hassan Rouhani's government. His letter, published on the website 'Kalemeh' on Tuesday, March 19, emphasizes that the responsibility for the dire consequences of this hunger strike will fall on the President, the Chief Justice, and other responsible officials. In the letter, he describes the conditions in Evin Prison, indicating the pressure from the Ministry of Intelligence on political and ideological prisoners that leads to their deprivation of rights. The lawyer states that the prison environment is such that some prisoners, including 'rent-seekers, embezzlers, and those connected to power,' enjoy privileges not granted to many ordinary and political-ideological prisoners. He further accuses Ministry of Intelligence agents of intervening in decisions regarding political and ideological prisoners, 'so that the Tehran prosecutor, influenced by their comments and demands, refrains from respecting certain legal rights of these prisoners.' Soltani declares that although he 'did not intend to spoil the joy of his loved ones during these festive days,' he will, against his inner will, start a hunger strike in protest against such unjust and discriminatory behaviors. Abdol-Fattah Soltani has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, which is reduced to 10 years under Article 134, as only the highest punishment is considered when a person has multiple offenses. With this in mind, Soltani has served about seven years of his sentence. The Kalemeh website also published a letter from Soltani's lawyers stating that he has requested a retrial, but it was denied. Ibrahim Sabatqadam and Saeed Dehghan remind in their letter that the charges cited by the Revolutionary Court judge during Soltani's trial were not crimes at all, and regardless of this, 'even the imposed punishments were disproportionate to the alleged crime.' Some of the charges against Abdol-Fattah Soltani include participating in the establishment of the Human Rights Defenders Center in prison, receiving the Nuremberg Human Rights Award from Germany, and informing about the cases of his clients. His lawyers further state that after all these years in prison, based on clause (c) of Article 474 of the Criminal Procedure Code, they have requested a retrial, but the Supreme Court did not even 'bother to study the case or even request the case file' and 'responded negatively to this request within just a few days.' Ibrahim Sabatqadam and Saeed Dehghan then note that since more than two-thirds of Abdol-Fattah Soltani's sentence has passed, he 'certainly deserves to utilize the legal right of conditional release according to Article 85 of the Islamic Penal Code,' but since 'all actions taken so far have been fruitless, it is inferred that there are apparently wills preventing the application of legal provisions and the execution of justice, and consequently the freedom of' Mr. Soltani. During his years in prison, Abdol-Fattah Soltani has suffered from illnesses such as anemia, fluctuating blood pressure, and acute colitis. He has also had the least amount of leave.