Hunger Strike of Rajai Shahr Prisoners; 'Preventing Access to Medical Care'

Authorities at Rajai Shahr Prison have threatened 17 political and ideological prisoners who have been on hunger strike for 41 days with the formation of new cases against them, while also preventing access to medical care. According to the International Human Rights Campaign, despite the deteriorating health of some prisoners on hunger strike, judicial and prison officials are refusing to send these prisoners to the hospital. Among those needing specialist medical attention are Saeed Masouri, Reza Shahabi, Abolqasem Fooladvand, Shahin Zoghi Tabr, Mohammad Nazari, and Mohammad Benazadeh Amirkhizi. The source added that the issue is not just about being sent outside the prison; even the medical officer has told the prisoners that since the prison does not recognize their hunger strike, they cannot check on them daily, which is dangerous for someone on hunger strike. Twenty prisoners at Rajai Shahr have been on hunger strike since August 8, protesting the violation of their rights, including deprivation of daily outdoor exercise, poor ventilation in the new ward, the presence of surveillance cameras, and the failure to return their personal belongings. According to reports from the HRANA website, 17 of these prisoners are still on hunger strike. On September 6, 130 political activists demanded attention to the prisoners' demands and an end to the illegal actions of security officials and the judiciary. In this context, 20 former political prisoners also wrote a letter requesting judicial officials to address the prisoners' demands while urging the hunger strikers not to endanger their lives and health further and to end their hunger strike to relieve their friends and families from worry. These former prisoners described the actions of Rajai Shahr Prison and the transfer of political and ideological prisoners as indicative of a new decision by certain circles to intensify the conditions of political prisoners even in general wards. Among the signatories of this letter are Bahman Ahmadi Amoui, Masoud Bastani, Majid Tavakoli, Kamran Rahimian, Keyvan Rahimian, Didar Raoufi, Ahmad Zeidabadi, Keyvan Samimi, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Saeed Madani, and Mostafa Nili. Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, called on the Islamic Republic on September 9 to address concerns regarding the long-term hunger strike of prisoners. Meanwhile, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, emphasized on September 1 that the judiciary would not 'yield' to the hunger strike of prisoners, stating that 'these actions are failures.' At the same time, the Zeytoon website reported that Saeed Masouri, Reza Akbari Manfarid, Abolqasem Fooladvand, Amir Ghaziani, Shahin Eqdami, Ebrahim Firoozi, Hassan Sadeqi, and Saeed Shirzad have been threatened by the prison chief that if they continue their hunger strike, they will be prosecuted. In addition to the prisoners at Rajai Shahr, some other prisoners, including Soheil Arabi, are also on hunger strike. Reports indicate that Soheil Arabi has been on hunger strike since September 2 in protest against 'case-making and harassment by the IRGC against him and his family,' and he has experienced drops in blood pressure, weight loss, and general weakness, but judicial and security officials have not responded to his demands. Nasrin Naeimi, Soheil Arabi's wife, was arrested on August 1 on charges of 'communicating with foreign media' by the IRGC intelligence organization. Following his wife's arrest, Soheil Arabi also went on hunger strike on August 10 demanding her release, but he ended his hunger strike after her release on bail on August 16. However, after his wife was threatened with having her case sent to court, he resumed his hunger strike. According to the International Human Rights Campaign in Iran, Mr. Arabi had 'eight Facebook pages under different names' and was charged with several accusations, including 'insulting the Imams and the Prophet' due to his writings on those pages. After his arrest in 2013, he was sentenced to death for 'insulting the Prophet and sacred things' in September 2014 by Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, and this sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in December of the same year. Ultimately, however, Branch 34 of the Supreme Court in Iran overturned Soheil Arabi's death sentence in July 2015 and sent the case for re-examination to another court. In the renewed proceedings, the charge of 'insulting the Prophet' was removed, and Mr. Arabi was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and a two-year travel ban after his release. Opposition to the transfer of Nizar Zaka to the hospital Meanwhile, Nizar Zaka's American lawyer, a Lebanese citizen residing in the U.S., reported that his client's health condition is 'severely deteriorating, and despite numerous requests, he has been denied transfer to the hospital.' Jason Pablett stated in an interview with the International Human Rights Campaign that the prison's medical officer indicated that his client needs a specialist but 'the head of Evin Prison refuses to transfer him to the hospital.' Nizar Zaka, a 50-year-old Lebanese citizen, has been imprisoned since September 2015. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined $4.2 million for 'espionage and collaboration with a hostile government.' Recently, the Tehran prosecutor stated that the request for a retrial regarding this sentence had been rejected. Mr. Zaka had previously gone on hunger strike in protest against his conditions in Evin Prison, the denial of visits from the Lebanese embassy representative, and a specialist doctor, but later ended his hunger strike after his health condition worsened and a doctor visited him in prison. In this context, 130 political activists demanded attention to the demands of the hunger-striking prisoners of Rajai Shahr and continued criticism of the conditions of prisoners in Rajai Shahr and the death sentence of Mohammad Ali Taheri.