Deteriorating Condition of Ali Shariati and Efforts to Save Arash Sadeghi

As reports emerge regarding the examination of Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike by the Hope faction in Parliament and several representatives visiting the Revolutionary Court on this matter, Ali Shariati's wife announced that he has lost consciousness on the 61st day of his hunger strike and his kidney is 'on the verge of failure.' Motahareh Parsi, Ali Shariati's wife, stated in an interview with the Zeyton website that her husband lost consciousness on Saturday, January 1, with a blood sugar level of 43 and blood pressure of 8 over 6. She emphasized that Mr. Shariati, who has been hospitalized in Evin prison's medical facility for 40 days, 'is unable to walk' and his left kidney 'is in severe pain and is failing.' Regarding his care in the prison's medical facility, she said: 'They may not even check on him once a day. He has lost consciousness multiple times, and if his condition worsens, the guards stand over him until he regains consciousness... There is no oxygen machine there, nor a medical system.' She announced that Mr. Shariati has decided to 'continue this hunger strike with all his strength until it leads to his freedom.' Mrs. Parsi stated that the judiciary officials have taken 'no specific action' regarding this political prisoner's hunger strike, and Mr. Hajilo, the supervising deputy prosecutor of the prison, told Mr. Shariati's family that if he dies, 'it does not matter.' Ali Shariati, a political prisoner, has been on a hunger strike for 62 days. He was sentenced for participating in a gathering in front of Parliament in protest against acid attacks in Isfahan, charged with 'acting against national security,' and announced after his arrest on November 1 that he would continue his hunger strike until this charge is removed from his case. Arash Sadeghi, another political prisoner, has also been on hunger strike for 70 days and, according to a relative speaking to Radio Farda, is on the brink of death and refuses to end his hunger strike before the release of his wife, Golrokh Iraee. Amir Reysan, Arash Sadeghi's lawyer, reported on Saturday that the prosecution authorities agreed to grant medical leave to him and his wife. However, there has been no report yet about Mr. Sadeghi or his wife's release on leave. On Saturday, around 1,300 political and civil activists in Iran signed a letter demanding an end to the hunger strikes of Arash Sadeghi and Ali Shariati. Meanwhile, Elias Hazrati, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, also wrote a letter to the head of the judiciary requesting that this authority address the situation of Arash Sadeghi and Ali Shariati and 'restore any rights that have been violated.' Mahmoud Sadeghi and Ahmad Mazani, two other representatives from Tehran, and Rahmatollah Hafezi, a member of Tehran's City Council, also expressed concern and requested attention to Arash Sadeghi's situation in tweets. Additionally, according to ILNA news agency, Bahram Parsai, spokesperson for the Hope faction in Parliament, announced that the issue of Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike was discussed in the faction's meeting on Sunday, January 2. He thanked the Tehran General and Revolutionary Court for 'cooperating' with representatives who had visited the court in the past two days to follow up on Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike. Mr. Parsai stated that 'assurances have been given in this regard' and 'we hope this issue is resolved as soon as possible.' He added: 'The faction intends to act through negotiation and consultation with officials to resolve this issue rather than issuing statements and publicizing it.' The hunger strikes of several other political prisoners in Iran are also ongoing, with Saeed Shirzad on hunger strike for 24 days and Nizar Zaka for 23 days. Hassan Rostegari Majd has been on hunger strike in Urmia prison since December 4, and Mohammad Reza Nokonam in Qom prison and Mehdi Kouhian in Maragheh prison have been on hunger strike since January 1. Morteza Moradpour, who ended his hunger strike after 65 days on Wednesday, was released from prison on Friday, January 1. In recent years, many political prisoners in Iran have gone on hunger strikes, and several, including Hadi Saber and Akbar Mohammadi, have died due to lack of medical care during their hunger strikes.