Call to End Hunger Strike of Ali Shariati and Warning About the Condition of Saeed Shirzad

As former political prisoners have urged Ali Shariati to end his hunger strike, Saeed Shirzad's lawyer has warned about the 'dangerous condition' of his client due to the hunger strike. According to the Zeytoon website, a number of former political prisoners visited Ali Shariati's home on Friday, January 13, asking him to end his hunger strike. Among these former political prisoners are Mostafa Tajzadeh, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Keyvan Samimi Behbahani, Bahareh Hedayat, Hossein Nourani Nejad, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Sajedeh Arab-Sorkhi, and Mostafa Nili. Ali Shariati has been on hunger strike for 75 days and, according to his family, is suffering from 'intestinal obstruction.' On Wednesday, January 11, Shariati's mother, Shayesteh Shahidi, was hospitalized for several hours after a heart attack. Ali Shariati was sentenced to 'action against national security' for participating in a protest outside the parliament against acid attacks in Isfahan and announced after his arrest on November 1 that he would continue his hunger strike until this charge is removed from his case. Shariati's family has stated that their request for his medical leave is 'until a fair trial is conducted through the legal channels provided,' and if this request is granted, the political prisoner will end his hunger strike. Meanwhile, Amir Salar Davoodi, Saeed Shirzad's lawyer, has warned about his client's physical and health condition and urged judicial authorities to 'talk to this political prisoner before it is too late.' According to Davoodi, Shirzad is in a 'dangerous and concerning condition' due to 'extreme weakness,' 'severe weight loss,' and 'severe pressure' on his kidneys and digestive system. He stated in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that judicial, prison, and security officials have not spoken to his client, 'as if he has not gone on hunger strike.' On Thursday, January 12, reports emerged about Shirzad's transfer to the hospital. He had also been transferred to the prison clinic of Rajai Shahr on Tuesday and Wednesday of the previous week due to 'low blood pressure' and 'stomach and chest pain.' Saeed Shirzad, a civil activist, announced his hunger strike on December 8 in protest against the 'silent death of prisoners' and citing multiple instances of violations of prisoners' rights by sewing his lips shut. Previously, in response to requests to end his hunger strike, he had stated that he would continue the hunger strike for 30 days and would either end it or convert it to a dry hunger strike depending on whether the 'voices of the voiceless' are heard. After a month, this civil activist announced that he would continue his wet hunger strike. In recent weeks, reports have emerged about the hunger strikes of several other prisoners, including Nizar Zaka, Mohammad Reza Nokonam, and Mehdi Kouhian, but there has been no news about the continuation or cessation of their strikes. Ahmad Reza Jalali, a physician residing in Sweden, has also been on hunger strike for 12 days. Vida Mehranian, Jalali's wife, reported in an interview with Radio Farda that her husband was arrested in Tehran on May 25 on charges of 'collaboration with the enemy.' Arash Sadeghi had previously gone on hunger strike for over 70 days in protest against the detention of his wife, Golrokh Iraee. On January 3, Ms. Iraee was granted leave, and Mr. Sadeghi ended his hunger strike. Mr. Sadeghi was transferred to the hospital on Saturday, January 8, but shortly after, websites reported that he was returned to prison despite doctors' recommendations for hospitalization. Meanwhile, some websites reported that despite the provision of bail, the Tehran prosecutor conditioned Arash Sadeghi's leave on his wife's return to prison. Golrokh Iraee also reported to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the execution unit of the Tehran prosecutor's office sent a warning to her bail provider, who is her mother, giving her a month to report to prison. Ms. Iraee stated that after the end of her four-day leave, she was summoned to prison but did not report because she considers the ruling issued against her 'illegal,' and the prison chief and Mr. Hajilo, the deputy prosecutor, told her that 'an error occurred in her case.' She also announced that due to the 'life issue' of her husband, she might report to prison next week. Ms. Iraee also stated that Mr. Hajilo, the deputy prosecutor of Tehran, had promised her that her leave would be extended until her case's retrial was accepted, but this promise was not fulfilled. According to this report, Arash Sadeghi has also stated that he will go on another hunger strike if his wife is returned to prison. The website HRANA reported that Arash Sadeghi was transferred to the prison clinic of Evin three times in the past week due to 'deteriorating health.' Meanwhile, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, warned on Tuesday, January 10, about the situation of prisoners on hunger strike and called for their unconditional release. She described the detention of many political and ideological prisoners as 'arbitrary' and their charges as 'vague.' Michael Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, and Ronald Aju, the head of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, supported Asma Jahangir's request. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, stated on January 5 in response to the hunger strikes of political prisoners that 'if they intend to pressure the judiciary from within and outside to comply, they are severely mistaken, and the judiciary will not yield.' In recent years, many political prisoners in Iran have gone on hunger strikes, and some, including Hadi Saber and Akbar Mohammadi, have died due to lack of medical attention during their hunger strikes.