Hunger Strike in Protest Against Assault on Political Prisoners in Iran

According to independent news sources, five political prisoners in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj have gone on hunger strike in protest against the "assault" on political prisoners by "two notorious inmates," "with the support" of prison officials. The Khabar website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported that on Saturday afternoon, December 7, two inmates from Hall 12 of Ward 4 of Rajai Shahr prison, who have a "history of violence and misconduct," attacked a group of political and ideological prisoners "with knives and beat them" after "threats and intimidation." According to Khabar, the assailants are "supported" by the management and the "security and intelligence" of Rajai Shahr prison, and prison officials have not taken any "preventive measures" to stop the assault on political prisoners. Based on this report, Saeed Razavi Faqih, Saeed Madani, Jafar Aghdami, Behzad Arabgol, and Kamran Iazai, political prisoners in Rajai Shahr prison, have announced an "unlimited hunger strike" demanding the transfer of the attackers away from the political prisoners' section. The Khabar website published images of Saeed Madani and Saeed Razavi Faqih showing cuts on their faces and necks. The Mizan news website, close to national-religious forces, also published a similar report, stating that at the same time as the attack on Hall 12 of Ward 4, "the phone lines of Rajai Shahr prison were cut, and prisoners are unable to contact their families or inform them of their situation." Saeed Madani, a senior social sciences researcher and national-religious activist, was arrested in January 2011 and has been in prison since then. He had been arrested multiple times before. Saeed Razavi Faqih, who has also been arrested several times in recent years, was last detained in March 2014 after a speech in Hamadan. The Khabar website reported on September 20 that Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, sentenced Saeed Razavi Faqih to another three and a half years in prison. According to this site, Mr. Razavi Faqih's one-year prison sentence had ended five months ago. In recent years, especially after the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election, political prisoners have repeatedly gone on hunger strikes in protest against their detention conditions and incidents such as "assaults" by prison guards. Political prisoners have previously stated that according to the prison organization’s regulations regarding the separation of prisoners based on their crimes and charges, political prisoners should be housed together in one ward. Ward 350 of Evin prison and some wards of Rajai Shahr prison were turned into special wards for political prisoners after the 2009 presidential election. However, following widespread reports of the "assault" on prisoners in Ward 350 of Evin prison by prison guards and security agents on Thursday, April 17, 2014, several political prisoners held in this ward were transferred to a building that had previously been a quarantine for Ward 7 of Evin prison and also Rajai Shahr prison.