Iran Human RightsIran prisoners on hunger strike

Iran prisoners on hunger strike

-

Evin PrisonAFP: Several Iranian political prisoners have gone on hunger strike in protest at being denied proper medical care in jail, international rights groups said in a statement Monday.
Evin PrisonNicosia (AFP) — Several Iranian political prisoners have gone on hunger strike in protest at being denied proper medical care in jail, international rights groups said in a statement Monday.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DRRC) and League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI) issued a joint statement expressing alarm at the action by more than 80 inmates.

Among them are human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who began a hunger strike in Tehran’s Evin prison on November 1 in protest at the authorities denying adequate medical care to dozens of sick prisoners there, it said.

“Two days later, about 80 prisoners also started a three-day strike in Rajaishahr prison, near the city of Karaj, west of Tehran,” the statement said.

The hunger-strikers are denouncing security service “interference” during prisoner transfers to hospitals and the refusal of the authorities to meet costly medical bills.

“Authorities seem to be seeking revenge against prisoners of conscience for exercising their rights,” said FIDH president Karim Lahidji.

“In addition to suffering torture during pre-trial detention and harsh sentences after extremely unfair trials, they are denied access to adequate medical treatment.?

?More than two dozen prisoners of conscience have died as a result of extensive neglect under highly dubious conditions in Iranian prisons in the past few years,” said Shirin Ebadi, DHRC President and 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate.

‘The Iranian authorities are silently preparing the death of prisoners of conscience,” the statement quoted the rights lawyer, who lives in exile, as saying.

In the statement, the groups called on the international community to express their concern at the plight of political prisoners by voting for a UN resolution “bound to reflect the gross violations of human rights” in Iran.

On October 24, Iran angrily rejected a UN report which said the Islamic republic’s human rights record showed no sign of improvement.

In the report, special human rights monitor for Iran Ahmed Shaheed condemned the high number of executions in the country this year as well as tough restrictions on freedom of speech, especially online.

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Iran’s ex-Revolutionary Guards chief abandons race

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jun. 15 – A day after...

Fist-fight at Iran’s Majlis

Iran Focus: Tehran, Oct. 21 – A fist-fight broke...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you