Reza Khandan Goes on Hunger Strike in Protest of Conditions in Evin Prison's Ward 8

Reza Khandan, a civil activist and husband of renowned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, has gone on a hunger strike in protest of the conditions in Ward 8 of Evin Prison. According to Nasrin Sotoudeh's Instagram account, Mr. Khandan informed his wife that he started his hunger strike on the morning of Monday, December 24. Mehraveh Khandan, the daughter of Reza Khandan and Nasrin Sotoudeh, also confirmed this news, stating that her father is being held in the Hosseiniyeh [a public space in Evin Prison] which does not even have suitable conditions for sleeping. Reports indicate that Mr. Khandan had previously written a letter to the authorities at Evin Prison requesting improvements in Ward 8, which is described as lacking basic living conditions and infested with bedbugs, but no action was taken. Other political prisoners, including Zia Nabavi and Mehdi Mahmoudian, have also reported the presence of bedbugs in Evin Prison, leading to legal cases against them. Zia Nabavi was acquitted in the case known as 'bedbug'. According to Nasrin Sotoudeh's Instagram account, Reza Khandan's hunger strike is also a protest against the conditions in the detention centers of the police force. Recently, a prisoner named Mehdi Khodayari, a 28-year-old man with two young children, died on Sunday after being transferred from a police detention center to Evin Prison. Iranian judicial and security officials have not yet commented on this news. Reza Khandan was arrested at his home in Tehran on December 14 in a case that was said to have been closed, and he has been imprisoned since then. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent lawyer and human rights defender, told Radio Farda that her husband's arrest was to enforce a sentence from six years ago regarding the production of badges stating 'I protest against compulsory hijab'. Reza Khandan's imprisonment has sparked widespread protests, with organizations such as the American PEN, 24 international legal entities, and over 750 civil and political activists calling for his immediate and unconditional release.