Motahari's Call for 'Prudence' Regarding Shariati; Temporary End to Taheri's Hunger Strike

Ali Motahari, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has called for 'prudence' from the judiciary in order to 'resolve' the hunger strike of Ali Shariati, a social activist currently imprisoned. At the same time, a family member of Mohammad Ali Taheri has confirmed that this ideological prisoner has also 'temporarily ended' his hunger strike. A wave of hunger strikes by political and ideological prisoners in Iran has recently gained widespread attention on global social media, in protest against the sentences issued against them. Previously, users on Twitter reacted to the hunger strike of Arash Sadeghi; ultimately, Mr. Sadeghi's wife was released, and he was also scheduled to be transferred to the hospital. However, reports indicate that the hunger strikes of several other political prisoners continue for an extended period. Ali Shariati, a social activist, has been on hunger strike in prison for over 60 days. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on his Instagram account on January 5 that the actions regarding Arash Sadeghi and his wife Golrokh Iraei 'reflect a better attention from the judiciary to the realities of society and the principle of proportionality of crime and punishment in issued sentences.' He also reminded that 'Mr. Ali Shariati, whose main accusation is pursuing the acid attack case in Isfahan in a gathering in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, has been on hunger strike for 65 days in protest against his five-year prison sentence,' expressing hope that the judiciary would resolve this matter with prudence. Simultaneously, Mohammad Ali Taheri's sister, the founder of 'Erfan Halqeh,' confirmed that this ideological prisoner stated in a phone call that he has temporarily ended his hunger strike. Mr. Taheri is protesting the sentence issued against him. In a phone call with his relatives, he mentioned that 'one of the officials of the judiciary visited him and assured that his case would be reviewed quickly, and asked him to end his hunger strike.' Mohammad Ali Taheri established an institute named 'Erfan Halqeh' in 2001, which was involved in activities related to 'Iranian complementary medicine, transcendental therapy, and cementology.' He was arrested in 2011, and the initial sentence issued against him was 'death.' Last year, his death sentence was overturned, and the case was referred back to the Revolutionary Court for retrial. Amnesty International recently reported concerns following the hunger strikes of Saeed Shirzad, Mohammad Reza Nokonam, a cleric, Hassan Rastgari Majd, an Iranian-Turkish citizen imprisoned in Tabriz, Mehdi Kouhian, a civil activist, and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese businessman, while also stating that sufficient information regarding their status is not leaking out.