Exclusive: Concerns Over the Health of Arasham Rezaei and Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb; Armita Paveer Goes on Hunger Strike

Sources related to two political prisoners have expressed concern over the health of Arasham Rezaei and Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, emphasizing their lack of information about their conditions. Additionally, a student union reported that Armita Paveer has gone on a hunger strike in Tabriz prison. A source close to Arasham Rezaei, the detained civil activist, told the Persian section of Voice of America on Sunday, October 22, that Rezaei's relatives have been unaware of his situation since his arrest, which has caused them severe concern. Previously, Rezaei had announced that his mother suffers from heart disease and warned of her deteriorating health due to the emotional shock caused by his detention. Arasham Rezaei, a constitutionalist civil activist, was arrested on Tuesday, October 17, by 'two cars full of agents' in Fardis, Alborz Province. It is unclear why this human rights activist was arrested and by which authority; however, he had previously reported on a joint case being built against him and several other constitutionalist activists and had refrained from going home in recent months. Furthermore, according to a source close to Zartosht Ahmadi Raghb, this political prisoner held in Qazalhesar prison in Alborz Province has had no contact with his family and relatives for the past seven days. An informed source told Voice of America that after his transfer to the general ward of the prison last Sunday, there has been no news of this imprisoned civil activist, and although his physical condition is not suitable, judicial authorities are preventing him from being granted medical leave. Previous reports indicated that he was 'on a hunger strike and in poor health.' Additionally, the Telegram channel of the student unions reported that Armita Paveer, a student activist from Tabriz Civil University who was arrested a month ago by government agents, has been transferred to the women's section of Tabriz Central Prison. According to this report, Armita Paveer has been on a hunger strike since October 17 in protest against her 'indecision and pressure' during detention and the prevention of her bail and release. Previous reports indicated that this student activist had also been arrested in July and had been detained during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, from which she was released on a 250 million toman bail.