Varisheh Moradi, Political Prisoner Accused of Rebellion, Begins Indefinite Hunger Strike

Varisheh Moradi, a political prisoner held in the women's section of Evin Prison, announced that she is going on a hunger strike in protest against the restrictions imposed on her and the executions carried out by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Human rights news sources reported on Thursday, October 11, that this political prisoner stated she is conducting an 'indefinite hunger strike' in protest against the increase in the issuance and execution of death sentences in Iran, as well as her own uncertainty and the restrictions placed upon her. An informed source close to Varisheh Moradi's family confirmed this news to HRANA, the media organ of human rights activists in Iran, stating that she is 'on hunger strike in protest against the continuation of her detention and uncertainty, as well as being deprived of visits with her family and lawyer, which has been ordered by Judge Abolqasem Salavati since mid-May of this year, and the increase in death sentences in Iran.' Varisheh Moradi, a political prisoner charged with 'rebellion' due to her membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties, is currently imprisoned. Her first court session was held on June 17 of this year in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Abolqasem Salavati, with the second session taking place on October 6. Ms. Moradi was arrested by the intelligence agents of the Islamic Republic on July 31 of last year in the suburbs of Sanandaj and was transferred to Tehran. In December of the same year, after the interrogation period ended, she was moved from Ward 209 of Evin Prison to the women's section of the prison. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has previously sentenced several political and ideological prisoners to death on charges of 'rebellion,' and some of them have been executed in recent years. In August of this year, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic sentenced six prisoners, including Malek-Ali Fadaei Nasab, Farhad Shakeri, Eisa EidMohammadi, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, and Taj Mohammad Khormali, to death on charges of 'rebellion.' These six individuals were first confronted with the death penalty in 2019 in Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, presided over by Judge Mahmoud Davood Abadi, for their membership in the 'Salafi Party of Al-Furqan' and the 'National Solidarity Front of Sunni Iranians.' Additionally, Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi, two female political prisoners, are also currently facing the death penalty. The issuance of these sentences has led to widespread criticism from human rights organizations and unions around the world.