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Seventeen Political Prisoners Lives Are in Danger
By IHRV | October 4, 2008
Kurdish political prisoners identified as Ehsan Topooz, Morad Diar, Ali-Ahmad Solaiman, Mostafa Ali-Ahmad, Balal Chiligar, Nehad Toonjehr, Omar Chaparaz, Jumhoor Azgooch, Yosef Atsaz began a hunger strike to demand compliance with their rights as prisoners in Oromiah central prison on 1 Shahrivar (August 22). On the twenty- fourth day of the hunger strike, all detainees were transferred to solitary confinement under the cover of discussing their demands with prison authorities.
The solitary confinement in the central prison of Oromiah is housed in an old structure with humid conditions, making these places ideal for spreading diseases that could further weaken one’s physical strength. These individuals, of whom most are foreigners, do not have access to family members or lawyers, and these issues, in addition to the detainees’ transfer to solitary confinement, have quarantined them from public view. With the continued hunger strike, which is on its thirty-ninth day, the physical conditions of detainees have deteriorated and their lives are in a grave danger.
Sahand Ali-Mohammad, Bakhshali Mohammadi, Abadullah Ghasemzadeh, Mehdi Ghasemzadeh and Yones Aghaian are five prisoners who have been imprisoned in the same prison for more than five years. The five were transferred to solitary confinement as they began their hunger strike on 25 Shahrivar (September 15) to protest the illegal handling of their case, ill treatment by prison guards and insults to their religious belief. All are in the twelfth day of their hunger strike and, considering their gastronomical conditions due to a previous twenty-five day long hunger strike, as well as their stay in the humid and unsanitary conditions of the Oromiah prison, the prisoners’ physical conditions are weakening.
Khalil Mostafa-Rajab, a Kurdish political prisoner in central Saghez prison, has been on hunger strike for more than one month. Mr. Mostafa-Rajab is suffering from a number of physical ailments, such as arthritis and a kidney condition, which have been exasperated with his continued hunger strike. The Kurdish political prisoner is a citizen of Syria, and since he does not have any relatives in Iran and lacks access to a lawyer, the issues have contributed to his isolation. Mr. Mostafa-Rajab is continuing his hunger strike and he is currently being kept in Sepah hospital in the city of Saghez.
Hedayat Ghazali, an imprisoned Kurdish student, began a hunger strike in Evin prison on 1 Shahrivar (August 22). Due to his continued hunger strike, his physical health has deteriorated and he has experienced convulsions on a number of occasions. In spite of his transfer to the medical unit of the prison, he has rejected intravenous treatment and has refused to break his hunger strike. Mr. Ghazali’s physical condition has been weakened and his continued hunger strike will seriously put his life in danger.
Source: Coalition of Human Rights Advocates in Iran
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