Summons, Executions and Hunger Strike

In an exclusive interview with Rooz, the families of political prisoners held at Evin Prison’s ward 350, demanded a meeting between Tehran’s prosecutor general and their loved ones behind bars: “Tehran’s prosecutor general must hear prisoners’ demands and work to resolve the crisis.” At the same time, some intelligence ministry officials have repeatedly warned the prisoners that they would turn the ward into a “second Kahrizak,” according to the website kalame.

After being transferred to solitary confinement, 17 political prisoners at Evin Prison’s ward 350 began a hunger strike. Meanwhile, Parvin Tajik, Abdolreza Tajik’s niece, has been summoned to the justice ministry’s office inside Evin Prison. Ms. Tajik told Rooz that government officials have so far ignored her and Mr. Tajik’s attorney’s request to meet with Mr. Tajik in prison.

The family of Mr. Tajik revealed in a letter to the head of the judiciary that Mr. Tajik was “desecrated” in the presence of the prosecutor general’s representative.

Meanwhile, the hardline Kayhan daily wrote, “Six members of the terrorist cult Monafeghin [the government and many Iranians refer to the People’s Mojaheddin opposition group as the Monafeghin, literally the ‘hypocrites’] who were arrested while disrupting order and destroying property last year are awaiting their executions.” In exclusive interviews with Rooz, the lawyers and families of these prisoners shared their concerns about their loved ones’ fates.

Jafar Kazemi, Abdolreza Ghanbari, Mohsen and Ahmad Daneshpour Moghaddam, Ali Aghayari and Ali Saremi are the individuals sentenced to death.

In this midst, the hunger strike by 17 political prisoners and the lack of information about their conditions has worried many. The families of these prisoners gathered in front of the offices of Tehran’s general prosecutor yesterday and demanded answers from officials.

Student activist and member of Advar Tahkim Vahdat Ali Malihi, journalist Bahman Ahmadi-Amouei, journalist and member of Mosharekat party Hossein Nouraninejaf, student activist and Advar Tahkim Vahdat’s spokesperson Abdollah Momeni, student activist Ali Parviz, political activist Hamid Reza Mohammadi, civil activist Jafar Eghdami, photojournalist Babak Bordbar, suspended student Zia Nabavi, civil activist and Iran-Iraq war veteran Ebrahim Babaei, journalist and human rights activist Kuhyar Goudarzi, student activist Majid Dorri, student activist Majid Tavakkoli, journalist Keyvan Samimi, protesters Gholamhossein Arashi and Payman Karimi-Azad, and Mohammad Hossein Sohrabirad are the prisoners who have gone on hunger strike. According to the website kalame, more prisoners may have joined the strike.

A cursory look at the names of the prisoners on strike reveals that many lesser-known political prisoners are accompanying more prominent prisoners in the strike.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to Tehran’s prosecutor Jafari Dolatabadi, attorney Mohammad Mostafaei demanded the release of his wife and brother-in-law. He wrote, “I ask you, as the highest official at Tehran’s general and revolutionary courts, to reprimand the prosecutor on charge of my case and release my wife and her brother currently held as hostages.”

Mostafaei’s wife and brother-in-law were arrested last week after security agents failed to arrest Mr. Mostafaei.