Exclusive; Khaled Pirzadeh's Health Deteriorates After Eight Days of Hunger Strike in Evin Prison

A source close to Khaled Pirzadeh, a political prisoner, informed Voice of America on Wednesday, January 3, that his health has worsened following eight days of hunger strike. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that Khaled's condition is 'not good at all' due to the continuation of the hunger strike. According to this source, Mr. Pirzadeh 'insists on continuing the hunger strike until normal conditions for his family's life are provided and the pressures, such as the freezing of his wife's bank account, are lifted.' The source added that after Khaled Pirzadeh's recent arrest, his family has faced 'significant hardships,' including 'inability to secure housing or renew their housing contract.' Additionally, the source indicated that the situation for Khaled's child has also become 'difficult,' and 'during this time, he has been hospitalized several times due to nervous issues.' Khaled (Koushan) Pirzadeh, a former bodybuilding champion of Iran, was first arrested by government forces in June 2019. In February of the same year, he was sentenced to seven years in prison by Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by 'Mohammad Mogheiseh,' on charges of 'assembly and collusion' and 'insulting the leadership.' This athlete, who won third place in the 'World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation' competition in Singapore in 2018, has gone on hunger strikes multiple times during his imprisonment and sewed his eyelids shut in protest of his situation in January 2022. This political prisoner was released in February 2023 under conditions where he was unable to walk, and his health was reported to be critical due to spinal cord injury from broken vertebrae and anxiety disorders. Afterward, Khaled Pirzadeh was arrested again on September 19 when he was at Ahvaz Airport for a trip to Turkey and was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran after a few days. During his detention, this political prisoner was taken to the hospital once due to 'seizures and heart cramps.' In previous days, an informed source detailed the process of this political prisoner's case to Voice of America, stating that Khaled Pirzadeh emphasized in a phone call from prison, 'Let us not forget against forgetfulness, we must be a voice.' Mr. Pirzadeh, along with several other political activists inside and outside of prison in Iran, issued a joint message ahead of the current year's Nowruz, stating that the 'current disarray' of Iranians is the 'result of thoughts, methods, and goals' that emerged 'with the 1979 Revolution and the deviation of constitutionalism,' 'in the battle between constitutionalists and traditionalists.'