Hangameh Shahidi Transferred to Medical Center After a Month of Critical Condition

Relatives of Hangameh Shahidi, a journalist and political activist imprisoned in Iran, say she was transferred "for a few hours" to a medical center outside Evin Prison after "a month of critical condition" and following family members' efforts. Ms. Shahidi is currently on a hunger strike and has emphasized that she will "continue her strike." She was arrested on March 10 and imprisoned in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin. Despite nearly three months having passed since her arrest, the reasons for her detention and solitary confinement remain unclear. Shortly after her imprisonment, she began a "wet hunger strike," and then from the third week of Ordibehesht (April), she undertook a dry hunger strike for several days. Reporters Without Borders had previously warned that her dry hunger strike posed a "risk of death". On May 30, her family reported that she was "facing significant weight loss and severe physical weakness" and that "her body even rejects water." According to family members, Ms. Shahidi is in a "critical condition" and "is surviving through intravenous therapy." They stated that after a month of follow-up, authorities transferred her for a few hours to Tehran Clinic, where she was examined and treated by a cardiologist. In a brief meeting with her family, Ms. Shahidi said she is still in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin and is interrogated for 12 hours a day. She reported that "interrogators are trying to force her to give false confessions." The details of these "confessions" are unclear, and Iranian judicial authorities have yet to respond to concerns about her physical health. Previously, Mostafa Torkhamdani, a lawyer, stated that this journalist and political activist was arrested on "security charges" by the second branch of the Tehran Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. The spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary stated at the end of Farvardin (April) that the Ministry of Intelligence was responsible for her arrest. Hangameh Shahidi had previously linked her arrest to the presidential elections in Ordibehesht (May), stating that the IRGC Intelligence Organization and the Ministry of Intelligence are working on a "joint project" for the "widespread arrest of journalists and political and civil activists."