Narges Mansouri's Hunger Strike in Evin Prison; She Says Ali Khamenei is Responsible for Her Life

Narges Mansouri, a labor activist opposing the Islamic Republic, has announced in a message from Evin Prison, shared with Nazila Golestani and sent to Voice of America, that she has been on a hunger and medication strike since December 25 and that from now on, her life is the responsibility of Ali Khamenei. Ms. Mansouri, whose father was killed in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and is considered a 'martyr's family' in the Islamic Republic, states in this audio file that despite suffering from severe and chronic illnesses in prison, she is on strike to make her plight and quest for justice heard worldwide and to urge the Islamic Republic officials to stop pressuring her family, especially her mother. This labor activist and one of the 14 women who signed the '14 Statement' calling for the resignation of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, refers to the physical and financial damages inflicted on her during both her 'terrifying' arrest and her time in detention, revealing a project of 'madness-inducing' by security institutions against her. She adds, 'While I am currently facing five definitive convictions, officials are opening a sixth case against me and preventing my release.' Narges Mansouri strongly criticizes the 'unjust pressures' on her family, particularly her mother, condemning the auctioning of her mother's residential apartment and declaring that from now on, the responsibility for her safety lies with Ali Khamenei and the Islamic regime. In the end of her audio file, this labor activist opposing the Islamic Republic calls on all Iranians inside and outside the country to be the voice of political prisoners and their families 'without any bias.' Narges Mansouri was one of the signatories of a letter in which 14 civil activist women in June 2019 called for moving beyond the Islamic Republic and drafting a new constitution, considering the inequalities and issues faced by women in Iran. She has been a member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company and was first violently arrested by government forces in August 2019 while returning from work. After 20 days in solitary confinement, she was transferred from Qarchak Prison to Evin Prison in September of the same year. In November 2019, she was temporarily released from Evin Prison on bail until the end of the judicial proceedings, but in February 2020, she was sentenced to six years in prison and two years of prohibition from political and social activities by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. This civil activist was granted leave in May of this year due to illness for a 'hysterectomy' surgery and was re-arrested on December 3 while trying to leave the country for medical treatment. Narges Mansouri has worked for over 20 years in the administrative section of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company and has fought for workers' rights in recent years.