Continued Pressure on Families Seeking Justice; Maryam Mehrabi's Hunger Strike in Prison and Billion-Toman Bail Set for Rana Korkor

Following the recent arrests of Maryam Mehrabi and Rana Korkor, members of the families of political prisoners sentenced to death, Maryam Mehrabi has gone on a hunger strike and Rana Korkor's release has been conditioned on a billion-toman bail. According to reports, Maryam Mehrabi, sister of the condemned prisoner Mahmoud Mehrabi, and Rana Korkor, sister of the political prisoner Mojahid Korkor, were arrested after advocating for their brothers. Human rights sources report that Maryam Mehrabi, who has been transferred to solitary confinement in the Dowlatabad prison in Isfahan, has gone on hunger strike in protest against the pressures and separation from her children. HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, has reported that this teacher residing in Isfahan has been hospitalized several times in the prison infirmary, and the inability to visit or contact her has raised concerns for her family. Maryam Mehrabi was arrested on June 19 at her home in Isfahan and accused of 'attempting to incite violence, war, and slaughter among people with the intent to disrupt the security of the country.' Mahmoud Mehrabi, an active protester on social media, was sentenced to death by Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court in May on charges of 'corruption on earth.' Babak Farsani, the lawyer for this imprisoned protester, has requested an appeal against this ruling. Meanwhile, Negar Korkor, sister of Mojahid Korkor, who reported the arrest of another family member, Rana Korkor, on July 5, says that a billion-toman bail has been set for the conditional release of her imprisoned sister. This member of the family of political prisoners sentenced to death announced on her 'X' page on Wednesday, July 18, that after the completion of interrogations of Rana Korkor and her transfer to Evin Prison, a 'billion-toman bail' has been set for her release. Negar Korkor wrote: 'Those who can, please do something.' According to her, after Rana posted several posts on social media last year about her brother Mojahid and her sister Negar's arrest, a case was opened against her, and this year she was arrested after posting a story about the elections. Abbas Korkori, known as Mojahid Korkor, was arrested on December 20, 2022, a month after the killing of Kian Pirfalak, a 9-year-old child from Izeh, and was sentenced to death. He has been deprived of visitation and contact rights in recent months while imprisoned in Shiban Prison in Ahvaz. This is while the Pirfalak family has repeatedly stated that they have no complaint against Mojahid and have held government agents responsible for Kian's murder. So far, many members of the families seeking justice have faced government harassment, including summons and arrests, or have been expelled from their jobs and educational institutions. Among them, Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, was arrested on August 22, 2023, and government agents confiscated all his electronic devices and blocked his family's bank cards. He has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Islamic Revolutionary Court. Additionally, Omid and Zahra Saidiankh, brother and sister of the seeker of justice Milad Saidiankh, who was killed in the nationwide protests 'Women, Life, Freedom,' reported their summons to the prosecutor's office in Izeh, Khuzestan province, in April this year. The 'harassment' of the families of those killed in the nationwide protests by the security and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic has consistently been criticized by U.S. officials and human rights organizations.