NCRI Staff
NCRI -
Health of Iranian political prisoner is deteriorating after 50-day hunger strike
The health of Iranian political prisoner Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee has
significantly deteriorated now that she has been on hunger strike for 50
days.
Iraee, who is being held in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, Tehran
Province, is now suffering from various ailments as a result of this
hunger strike, including kidney dysfunction, a swelling of the legs, and
the loss of 20 kilograms in weight.
Iraee
began her hunger strike on February 3, as a protest against her illegal
transfer from Evin Prison to Qarchak Prison, on January 24. Under
Iranian law, prisoners are separated based on the category of their
crimes, but Iraee has been moved from a ward to house political
prisoners to a prison for dangerous and violent criminals. This is often
used by the Iranian Regime as a type of physcological and physical
torture against political prisoners.
On March 19, four UN experts called for the immediate release of
Iraee and fellow political prisoner Atena Daemi in a public statement,
which expressed concerns at the abuse of these two women and reported
that their attempts to talk with the Iranian Regime about this have been
less than fruitful.
The statement read: “Their cases are illustrative of a continuing
pattern of harassment, intimidation and imprisonment of those
undertaking peaceful and legitimate activities in the defence of human
rights and prisoners of conscience, often through using vaguely worded
or overly broad national security-related charges.”
Just before the release of that statement, Italian MEP Pier
Antonio Panzeri,
Chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee (DROI) of the European
Parliament, also expressed concern about these two female human rights
defenders and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
In a March 15 statement, Panzeri said: “I am gravely concerned by the
detention and reported cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of Atena
Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee at Shahr-e Rey prison. They are
regarded as prisoners of conscience by credible human rights
organisations. They are serving lengthy and unjust prison sentences that
were handed down solely for their peaceful human rights work.”
He also advised that the women should be given the urgent medical
care that they need as a result of attacks by other inmates and guards,
as well as their hunger strike.
He also advised that the prison authorities allow both political
prisoners to resume regular contact with their family and friends,
including prison visits and phone calls.
Iraee is serving a sentence for writing a fictional story about the
oft-used practice of stoning as a punishment by the Iranian Regime. This
story was unpublished and was only visible on Iraee’s private computer,
which was seized by the Regime when they arrested her husband for his
activism.
https://www.ncr-iran.org
