NCRI Staff
NCRI – At the request of his cell-mates, the political prisoner Arash Sadeghi has ended his hunger strike which he started two weeks ago to protest against beating and exiling his wife ‘Golrokh Iraei’ and Atena Daemi.
It was not long ago when Sadeghi just came out of another 70-day hunger strike, the complications of which still hurt the political prisoner.
On February 7, 2018, Sadeghi wrote a letter to announce the end of his hunger strike.
The letter reads “when I heard about transfer of Golrokh and Atena to Gharchak Prison, the images of oppressions throughout all these years came alive in my mind, especially considering that the two prisoners were subject to insults and beatings once being transferred. That’s the same old story of filing fake lawsuits, this time planned and carried out from within the prison.
“When they take advantage of their own law to force more pressure and oppression, then resistance and protest is the only way to preserve human dignity. That’s why I started a hunger strike despite suffering from severe physical weakness.
After pointing out the reasons behind his hunger strike, the prisoner of conscience then describes his physical condition, saying “due to being denied of timely medical treatment, my health status has deteriorated so much that I started suffering such complications like low blood pressure, rectal bleeding, breathing problems, irregular heartbeat and frequent nausea only a few days after I started the hunger strike.”
“My fellow cell-mates insisted from the beginning that I reconsider and end my strike. Over the past few days, I’ve been feeling my cell-mates’ non-stop presence and all their concerns by my side. To respect their request, I finally decided to end my hunger strike.
“What we’re facing today is a pervasive and systematic oppression, with the scars of its whippings sitting on the back of Iranian people. Where justice is missing, it will be a crime to defend your right. And in a land where freedom is chained, execution, exile and imprisonment will be taken for granted. Golrokh, Atena and I are no exceptions to this reality.
“Golrokh and Atena have the right to defend their human dignity, the same way the Iranian women overwhelmed with oppression and inequality are now crying out their stolen rights on the streets.
“I ended my hunger strike because I found my pain and suffering much smaller than that of a mother who is faced with the dead body of her killed son while being told that he’s been an addict.
Sadeghi then underlines “where people sacrifice their lives on the streets to realize their society’s civil liberties, protest and strike could no longer be contained within individual and group boundaries, and seeking freedom requires a more elevated path.”
Previously sentenced by regime’s judiciary to a total 19-year imprisonment, the political prisoner staged a hunger strike last year that lasted 70 days, to protest against her wife’s re-arrest. At the moment, Mr. Sadeghi is suffering from many diseases, including Asthma, ulcerative colitis, and severe stomach and kidney problems, all of which caused by numerous long-term hunger strikes and deteriorated due to being denied of a medical treatment.
Amnesty International on Thursday February 8, 2018, issued a statement in this regard, asking the Iranian regime officials to release Atena Daemi, Golrokh Ebrahimi and Arash Sadeghi form prison.
