Latest Reports on Political Prisoners; Hengameh Shahidi & Payman Aref on Hunger Strike

Latest Reports on Polifical Prisomrs; Hengameh Shahidi Sc Paynmn Aref Ittp://hra-iran .net /indexphp?view—artic1e&ca d—66%3A3O4&id—1969
Latest Reports on Political Prisoners; Heagameh Shahidi & Payman Aref on Hunger Strike
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Monday, October 26, 2009
Henganeh Shahidi and Payman Aref have started a hunger strike in protest of their treatment and violation of their rights;
Concerns mount over the physical conditions of Nouraninejad and Abbas Khirsandi;
No prison visits for Ahmad Zaid-Abadi;
Abtahi's family visited him in prison.
The detained journalist, Hengameh Shahidi, who has been detained for 120 days under intense physical and psychological pressure, has started an indefinite
hunger strike after her transfer to the public ward. Shahidi was arrested on June 29th, 2009 and was detained in solitary confinement for almost 50 days. Her
lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaie, had previously warned about his client's bad emotional state. Following her transfer to the public ward, Shahidi now shares
her cell with Shahla Jahed, a pnsoner on death row.
Reports from Evin suggest that Fariba Pajooh has met with her family today. The prisoners' rights unit of HRA has reported that Pajooh met with her family
through the glass divider. It is possible that, following Shahidi' s transfer to the public ward, Pajooh could return to solitary confinement. The two journalists
previously shared a cell. Pajooh has not been interrogated in the last ten days, but her detention order has been renewed. Judicial authonties insist on
detaining her although they yet have to charge her.
According to a report on the “Tajjdod-Nameh” weblog, Payman Aref, the banned student, has started a hunger strike to protest his return to solitary
confinement. Aref and another detained student, Majid Dorri, had written a joint letter titled “we object” to the prosecutor. Following the publication of their
letter, Aref was put under pressure again and was finally transferred back to solitary confinement. Aref was arrested on August 19th, 2009 and has been
detained since.
According to a report by Adwarnews, Mahdieh Mohammadi has had no news of her husband, Ahmad Zaid-Abadi, currently detained at Evin, for the last 43
days. Mohammadi has said, “Today, Monday, my children and I went back to Evin to visit my husband. We had a letter signed by the Tehran Prosecutor in
which he had given his consent for the visit. We waited for S hours but were told that his interrogator had not authorized the visit or any other visits in the
future.” Zaid-Abadi's family and lawyer have had no news of him for the last 43 days.
The Norooz website reported that the family of Hossein Nouri-Nejad visited him in prison today. Parastoo Sarmadi, Nouri-Nejad's wife, said that her
husband is in good emotional state despite the fact that he has been kept in solitary confinement for the last 40 days. He has lost a lot of weight and he
looked pale during the visit. Sarmadi added that her husband, who suffers from asthma, needs fresh air, and keeping him in solitary confinement could be
dangerous for him.
The condition of the political prisoner, Abbas Khorsandi, has been reported unsatisfactory. Khorsandi was hospitalized at Taleghani Hospital yesterday after
his physical condition deteriorated. Prior to his hospitalization, judiciary officials had refused to extend his sick leave in the past and had returned him to the
prison despite his multiple medical conditions.
The Khabaronline website has reported that Mohammad-Ali Abtahi' s daughter said the family has visited him on Sunday. She said, “Since a month ago, like
all the other prisoners in ward 2-A of Evin, my father can have prison visits once a week.” Fatemeh-Sadat Abtahi added, “My father is being detained in a
room, along with Messier Saeed Shariati, Ramezan-Zadeh, Atrian-Far and Safai-Farahani. Mirdamadi, Arab-Sorkhi and Fandi are kept elsewhere, and
Amin-Zadeh and Tajer-Zadeh are detained together.” During the visit, Abatahi complained to his family and denied rumors that he had been allowed regular
visits to his house during the month of Ramadan.
The Mowjsabz website reports that Kayvan Samimi is under a lot of pressure from his interrogators. According to the Mowjsabz's report, the pressures
intensified after news leaked that Samimi was resisting while in prison. The interrogators have accused him of having ties to the Mojahedin Organization, but
he is resisting their pressure. His interrogators have taken away all his books and do not let him read any newspapers.
The famihes of the political prisoners have made it known in a statement that they will be holding a rally on Wednesday, October 28th to protest the ongoing
treatment of their loved ones, who have been detained for 4 months without due process. The families have stated that the rally will be the first step in the
fight they have vowed to continue until all their loved ones are released.
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