Iran: Hunger Strikes Spread To Rajaei Shahr Prison
By GVF
A hunger strike which had originally begun in Evin prison has spread to Rajaei Shahr prison in the city of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran.
According to opposition website Kaleme, six political prisoners in Rajaei Shahr prison have gone on hunger strike in solidarity with twelve inmates in Iran’s notorious Evin prison.
Keyvan Samimi, Isa Saharkhiz, Masoud Bastani, Ali Ajami, Jafar Eghdami and Heshmatollah Tabarzadi are reported to have begun their hunger strike. The six have vowed to continue with their protest until the twelve prisoners in Evin cease their hunger strike.
Initially, twelve political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison had begun an “indefinite” hunger strike to protest the recent killings of two other political prisoners, Haleh Sahabi and Reza Hoda Saber, and the ongoing human rights abuses in the country.
Kaleme has also reported that on the fifth day of their hunger strike, Abdollah Momeni and Abolfazl Ghadiani were sent to the infirmary after a noticeable deterioration of their health.
65-year-old Abolfazl Ghadiani suffers from heart complications, and his wife had previously expressed deep concerns over the possible impact of a hunger on his health.
Prominent human rights activist and journalist Emadeddin Baghi was released from prison on the third day of the hunger strike. Yet since his release, fellow inmate Mahdi Eghbal stepped in to continue with the collective show of protest.
In recent days, a campaign calling itself “Green Protest” has called for a “black wave” of demonstrations on 25 June in more than nineteen major cities around the world to protest the continuing human rights abuses in Iran, in particular the recent tragic deaths of political prisoners Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi.
The campaign has invited protesters to carry black symbols on 25 June, to protest the “systematic use of violence” by Iran’s tyrannical rulers. “Our goal is to alert the media and international public opinion about the striking surge in human rights violations in Iran.”
