Exclusive | 13 Days of Hunger Strike and Deteriorating Health of Zohreh Sarv; Prison Officials Threaten to Cut Phone Access

On the thirteenth day of Zohreh Sarv's hunger strike, a source informed Voice of America about a severe drop in her blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels, warning of her deteriorating health. Zohreh Sarv, a constitutionalist political prisoner in Evin, has been on hunger strike since Thursday, November 23, in protest against ongoing legal harassment, the prevention of conditional release or leave, and deprivation of medical rights. A source close to this political prisoner told Voice of America on Wednesday, December 6, that on the thirteenth day of her hunger strike, Zohreh Sarv's blood pressure has dropped significantly to "seven over four" and her heart rate fluctuates between "50 to 60." According to this source, Zohreh Sarv's blood sugar level is currently "70" and "today (Thursday) she has also refused to accept an IV." This source emphasized that judicial officials "not only do not address her critical physical condition," but have threatened to "cut her phone access" in the absence of family visits. Previously, an informed source told Voice of America that Zohreh Sarv was "released for 45 days" after spending two and a half years in Qarchak prison in 2021, but was later re-arrested and has been in Evin prison for almost three years. This source stated that after the fire in Evin prison in 2022, authorities used the pretext of transferring Zohreh Sarv to the hospital for treatment to take her out of prison and exiled her to Qarchak prison for nearly "five months." The informed source also emphasized that "the interrogator and judge from the previous case" are also involved in Zohreh Sarv's subsequent case, and the interrogator has made "demands from her," and since Zohreh Sarv has not complied with these demands for confession, the threats from the beginning continue. The informed source also mentioned that since Zohreh Sarv's mother is "bedridden" and cannot visit the prison, she is deprived of family visits. It was added that according to the doctor's assessment, Zohreh Sarv's "anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in her right leg" are "torn" and the doctor stated that "last year when she was injured, it could have been treated with medication and physiotherapy, but now she definitely needs surgery." Deprivation of medical rights and extrajudicial pressures on prisoners in Iran, especially on civil and political activists, have been reported multiple times by news sources and human rights organizations.