Saeed Shirzad's Health Deteriorates Following Hunger Strike

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that Saeed Shirzad, who has been on a hunger strike for 37 days, was transferred to the medical facility of Rajai Shahr Prison on Tuesday and Wednesday due to "low blood pressure" and "stomach and chest pain." According to a source, Mr. Shirzad was moved to the medical facility of Evin Prison on Tuesday, January 21, and refused to accept intravenous fluids. The prison authorities stated that they could not transfer him to the hospital as long as the civil rights activist refused to receive intravenous fluids. On Wednesday, January 22, Shirzad was again transferred to the medical facility of Rajai Shahr Prison due to "stomach and chest pain," with the prison doctor indicating that this pain was "caused by acid secretion from hunger." Saeed Shirzad, a civil rights activist, announced his hunger strike on December 8 in protest against the "silent death of prisoners" and citing numerous violations of prisoners' rights, by sewing his lips shut. Previously, in response to calls to end his hunger strike, he stated that he would continue for 30 days and would then either end it or convert it to a dry hunger strike, depending on whether the "voices of the voiceless" were heard. After a month, he announced that he would continue his wet hunger strike. Political prisoner Ali Shariati has also been on hunger strike for 73 days. Meanwhile, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran stated that despite the "risk of serious physical problems," judicial authorities have yet to respond to his demand for a review of the sentence issued against him and have refused to grant this political activist leave for treatment of the effects of the hunger strike. Ali Shariati was sentenced to "acting against national security" for participating in a gathering in front of the parliament protesting the acid attacks in Isfahan, and after his arrest on November 1, he declared that he would continue his hunger strike until this charge was removed from his case. Mr. Shariati's family has stated that their request for his medical leave is "until a fair trial is conducted through the legal channels provided" and that if this request is granted, this political prisoner will end his hunger strike. In recent weeks, reports have emerged of other prisoners starting hunger strikes, including Nizar Zaka, Mohammad Reza Nekounam, and Mahdi Kouhian, but there have been no updates on whether they have continued or stopped their strikes. Ahmadreza Jalali, a physician residing in Sweden, has also been on hunger strike for 12 days. Vida Mehran-Nia, Mr. Jalali's wife, reported in an interview with Radio Farda that her husband was arrested in Tehran on May 5 on charges of "collaborating with the enemy." Arash Sadeghi had previously gone on hunger strike for over 70 days in protest against the detention of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi, who was granted leave on January 4, leading Mr. Sadeghi to end his hunger strike. Mr. Sadeghi was transferred to the hospital on the evening of Saturday, January 18, but hours later, websites reported that despite doctors' opinions that he needed hospitalization, he was returned to prison after examination. Meanwhile, the website HRANA reported that Arash Sadeghi had been transferred to the medical facility of Evin Prison "three times" due to "deteriorating health" on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, warned on Monday, January 20, about the situation of prisoners on hunger strike and called for their unconditional release. She described the detention of many political and ideological prisoners as "arbitrary" and their charges as "vague." Michael Forst, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, and Ronald Aju, head of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, supported Asma Jahangir's request. However, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesman for the judiciary, stated on January 5 in response to the hunger strikes of political prisoners that "if they intend to pressure the judiciary from inside and outside to comply, they are severely mistaken, and the judiciary will not yield." In recent years, many political prisoners in Iran have gone on hunger strikes, and some, including Hadi Saber and Akbar Mohammadi, have died due to lack of medical attention during their hunger strikes.