Over 45 Women Prisoners in Evin Go on Hunger Strike Concurrent with Pezeshkian's Presence in New York

Concurrent with the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and the presence of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and his delegation in the city, over 45 political and ideological women prisoners in Evin Prison went on a hunger strike on Tuesday, October 3rd. According to the website of Narges Mohammadi Foundation, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and political prisoner, four women prisoners had also staged a sit-in and hunger strike a day earlier in the women's ward of this prison. The protesting and striking women are demanding a halt to the execution of political and ideological prisoners. For nearly seven months, a group of women prisoners in Evin Prison and several other prisons in the Islamic Republic have been staging sit-ins and hunger strikes every Tuesday as part of a campaign called 'No to Execution.' Masoud Pezeshkian, who left for New York on Sunday, October 1st, to attend the UN General Assembly, claimed before this trip that Iran is 'far safer and freer' than the image presented by the media. However, according to statistics from human rights organizations, more than 400 individuals have been executed in Iran in the first eight months of this year, with at least 100 of those occurring after the presidential elections and within just one month. Meanwhile, coinciding with Masoud Pezeshkian's presence in New York, the Bahá'í International Community expressed concern over what it called 'the intensification of harassment and oppression of Bahá'ís in recent weeks.' In a statement released on Monday, October 2nd, the Bahá'í International Community reminded some of the Iranian president's promises regarding respect for ethnic and religious minorities and equality for all Iranian citizens. However, the statement expressed regret over 'the significant gap between the words and actions of Islamic Republic officials, especially regarding Bahá'ís.' Simin Fahandej, the representative of the Bahá'í International Community at the United Nations, stated that recent experiences have shown that 'regardless of who is in power, Bahá'ís have always faced continuous harassment and oppression.' Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to speak for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, October 3rd, around midnight Iran time.