Hunger Strike of 13 Political Prisoners in Qazalhessar in Solidarity with Protesters on Mahsa's Anniversary

Reports to VOA indicate the beginning of a three-day hunger strike by 13 political prisoners who were exiled from Evin Prison in Tehran to Qazalhessar in Alborz Province on September 3. According to reports received by VOA, this hunger strike started on September 25 to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police and will continue for at least three days. The 13 political prisoners are Saeed Masouri, Jafar Ebrahimi, Kamiar Fakour, Loqman Aminpour, Afshin Baymani, Sepehr Imam Jom'e, Zartosht Ahmadi-Ragheb, Mohammad Shafaei, Saman Saidi (Yasin), Hamzeh Savari, Ahmadreza Haeri, Reza Salmanzadeh, and Masoudreza Ebrahiminajad, who were transferred from Evin Prison to Qazalhessar Prison in Karaj on September 3 and have declared a hunger strike again since September 25. Previously, a source close to one of the prisoners' families told VOA that these 13 prisoners are demanding to return to Evin Prison and the cancellation of new security charges against Ebrahimi and Fakour. Human rights sources report that these 13 political prisoners, currently held in the 'safe wing' of Qazalhessar Prison, are living in 'appalling' conditions and are deprived of basic prison facilities. Among these prisoners, Jafar Ebrahimi, a former member of the board of directors of the Coordinating Council of Cultural Associations of Iran, suffers from intestinal diseases and diabetes and is in unstable physical condition. The Human Rights Defenders Center recently warned in a letter to Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, about the consequences for these prisoners, who are held in the 'dangerous prisoners' section of Qazalhessar without the slightest sanitary and nutritional facilities. The International Education Organization, the largest educational organization in the world, also recently wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei demanding immediate medical leave and the saving of imprisoned teachers, Jafar Ebrahimi and Ismail Abdi. So far, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic and prison authorities have not responded to these reports.