More than 60 jailed women start hunger strike after Iranian protester is executed
Dozens of women held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison have begun a hunger strike in protest against the execution of political prisoners, after a man arrested during the Mahsa Amini demonstrations was hanged.
The execution “has sparked a wave of anger and protest in society”, jailed Iranian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi said on social media as she announced the strike on Thursday.
“The imprisoned women, to keep the names of the executed alive and to survive, hundreds of individuals in the prisons of the Islamic republic awaiting execution will resist,” she added.
The judiciary announced Mohammad Ghobadlou’s execution on Monday.
He was convicted of killing a police officer during the nationwide demonstrations in 2022, which followed Ms Amini’s death in police custody. His mother protested outside Karaj prison before his death.
Rights groups said Mr Ghobadlou was denied legal representation and his rights were “grossly violated” during his detention.
He had been under medical supervision for bipolar disorder since the age of 15, and was denied medication while detained to extract a “forced confession”, Amnesty International said last May.
The group said his family were stunned by the execution announcement, as they had been waiting for a retrial.
Ms Mohammadi’s father Karim, 90, is one of dozens who plan to join the 61 detained women in their strike.
“I am prohibited from making requests and meeting her.
I am longing to hear her voice, but I take pride in their willpower and resistance and I pledge not to eat morning until night in support of them,” he wrote. His words were shared by his daughter on social media.
“I urge each and every person in Iran to support the women standing in Evin and strongly oppose the executions.”
At least eight people have been put to death over the 2022 protests. Prominent activists in danger of execution have also joined the strike, including rapper Toomaj Salehi.
Evin holds thousands of political prisoners and dual citizens, who the West says are pawns in Tehran’s attempts to gain influence in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
Some of Iran’s most revered lawyers, academics and activists are detained at the prison. Former inmates include British-Iranian dual citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Former prisoners and their relatives previously told The National inmates were subjected to physical and psychological torture, solitary confinement and mock executions.