Exclusive: Khalid Pirzadeh Returned to Evin Prison One Day After Angiography

According to reports received by Voice of America, Khalid (Koushan) Pirzadeh, a political prisoner who is on a hunger strike, was returned to Evin Prison one day after undergoing angiography. A source close to this constitutionalist political prisoner described his physical condition as concerning and stated that he underwent angiography at Taleghani Hospital in Tehran on Thursday, February 1. According to this informed source, he was returned to Evin Prison less than 24 hours after the procedure. Khalid Pirzadeh, who had been hospitalized since late December due to 'heart issues and artery blockage', is on a hunger strike in protest against the 'arbitrary executions of protesters'. A former bodybuilding champion in Iran, he was first arrested by government forces in June 2019. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in February of that year on charges of 'collusion and conspiracy' and 'insulting the leadership'. This political activist, who was released in February 2022, was arrested again in September of this year while traveling to Turkey and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison on charges of 'collusion and conspiracy' and 'propaganda against the regime'. Along with several political activists in Iran, he stated in a message on the eve of Nowruz 1402 that the 'current dismal situation' 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 the proponents of absolute rule'. A video of Khalid Pirzadeh's efforts for full recovery was shared, where he stated: 'April 1 is the day of the great deception of the Islamic Republic'. Khalid Pirzadeh was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison; an informed source noted that he is still using 'anti-seizure medication'. Khalid Pirzadeh was transferred from Evin Prison to the hospital due to 'seizures and heart blockage'.