Deteriorating Health of Ali Shariati Continues Amid Hunger Strike in Prison

As Amnesty International expressed concern over Ali Shariati's condition, the political prisoner’s wife reported that he has suffered from "intestinal bleeding" on the sixty-seventh day of his hunger strike in Evin prison's medical facility. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Hope faction of the parliament announced that two members of this faction have met with the judge overseeing Ali Shariati and Arash Sadeghi's cases, and that the faction is hopeful that the issues surrounding these cases will be resolved given the "friendly atmosphere" of the meeting. Motahareh Parsi, Ali Shariati's wife, tweeted on Friday, January 7, that her husband, while moving in a wheelchair and unable to speak due to severe pain, had briefly told his family during a phone call that he was experiencing "intestinal bleeding." Amnesty International also released a statement on Friday expressing serious concern for Ali Shariati's physical condition, noting that he has lost over twenty kilograms during this time and has been transferred to the hospital twice due to his deteriorating health. Ali Shariati was sentenced to "actions against national security" for participating in a protest against acid attacks in Isfahan, and after his arrest on November 1, he declared that he would continue his hunger strike until this charge was removed from his case. Shariati's family has stated that their request for his medical leave is "until a fair trial is held through the legal channels provided" and that if this request is granted, he will end his hunger strike. Several reformist representatives in Iran's parliament have previously called for Ali Shariati's release through letters to the head of the judiciary or by posting on Twitter. However, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, tweeted that his efforts to follow up on this issue in the parliament's Article 90 Commission have not yielded results. On the other hand, Bahram Parsai, the spokesperson for the Hope faction, reported that two legal members of this faction met with the judge overseeing the cases of Arash Sadeghi and Ali Shariati. According to Parsai, this meeting took place "in a friendly and good atmosphere" and "the problems and issues raised" regarding these cases were discussed. On Wednesday, January 5, the hashtag calling for Ali Shariati's release (#sosAli) trended globally on Twitter. Previously, user reactions on Twitter to Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike led to his wife's eventual release and an agreement for Sadeghi to be transferred to the hospital. However, there has been no report yet regarding his transfer to the hospital. Arash Sadeghi's hunger strike received widespread attention, and some social media users published images of various graffiti related to this hunger strike. Meanwhile, several news websites, including Ensaf News, reported that members of the Basij student organization at Khyam University in Mashhad evacuated and "sealed" the Islamic Students Association's office due to the publication of Arash Sadeghi's image. According to the report, the university's security did not react to this action. Besides Ali Shariati, several other political prisoners are currently on hunger strike. Saeed Shirzad, a civil activist, has been on hunger strike since December 8 in protest against the "silent death of prisoners" and citing numerous violations of prisoners' rights, having sewn his lips shut to announce his hunger strike. He previously stated in response to requests to end his hunger strike that he would continue it for 30 days and would then decide whether to end it or convert it into a dry hunger strike depending on whether the "voices of the voiceless" are heard. In recent weeks, reports have emerged regarding the hunger strikes of several other prisoners, including Nizar Zaka, Mohammad Reza Nokonam, and Mahdi Kouhian. Ahmadreza Jalali, a doctor residing in Sweden, has also been on hunger strike for 12 days. Vida Mehran-Nia, Jalali's wife, reported in an interview with Radio Farda that her husband was arrested on May 25 on charges of "collaborating with the enemy" in Tehran.