Behnam Ebrahimzadeh on Hunger Strike since December 3, 2014 The Lives of Riybvar Abdullahi, Farzad Moradi, Fardin Miraki and 27 other Iranian Kurdish Prisoners in the Uromieh Prison is in Danger The Statement by a group of labour activists, writers, and political organizers Once again, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a member of the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’ Organizations and a Children’s Rights advocate in Iran, has been forced to go on a hunger strike since December 3, 2014. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh has been incarcerated by the Iranian regime on charge of gathering and collusion against the regime since June 2010.He was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment by the Iranian revolutionary court, which was reduced to 5 years imprisonment in the court of appeals. He has severely been bitten and injured in different occasions by the Iranian security forces for his continued efforts in communicating with the outside world, issuing his statements surrounding the inhuman situation he has been facing in jail, and also for messages of solidarity that he has periodically sent to the Iranian and international labor activists and organizations as well. On December 3, 2014, the new charges of “holding connection with Ahmad Shahid (the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran) and with one of the political organizations, were brought against him. In the infamous attack of the security forces on Evin prison’s ward 350 on April 17, 2014, Behnam was targeted, physically attacked, and sent to solitary confinement in ward 209 for interrogations. He was brought up on new charges and was forbidden from any visitation. After he was briefly returned to the general prison population of Evin on May 2, 2014, he was sent to solitary confinement in ward 209 of Evin again for 54 days and was transferred back to the general ward of Evin on June 17, 2014. Behnam’s family has also been targeted. On Saturday, June 29, 2014, Behnam’s wife and son arrived at Evin prison and in the end of their visitation, six security agents in civilian clothing hold them hostage, took them back to their house, raided their residence, confiscated and taken away all of their belongings. Security forces pressured Behnam’s fifteen years old son, Nima, who is afflicted with Leukemia, to hand over all of his father’s documents including the flash drives. During the attack Behnam’s wife and son were also interrogated and threatened repeatedly. Following the raid, the prison authorities once again without any legal justification or court order transferred Behnam to the ward 209 of Evin prison, which led to Behnam’s decision to go on hunger strike on August 9, 2014. Instead of taking Behnam grievances into consideration, the authorities transferred Behnam to a section for highly dangerous inmates at Rajaee Shahr’s prison (formerly known as Gohardasht). Behnam, at the time was suffering from severe headache, kidney, and intestine problems, demanded to be returned to ward 350 (his previous ward) in addition to receiving the medical treatment that he needed. He ended his hunger strike on September 4, 2014, when the Iranian regime has finally transferred him back to his previous prison. Behnam faced new charges on December 3, 2014, after he was seriously beaten again; new charges include causing unrest in prison, holding connection with Ahmad Shahid, and with a political organization. These new charges are very serious and can be used as a pretext to issuing a new sentence against him. After his court appearance, Behnam Ebrahimzadeh was immediately transferred to the Rajaie Shahr Prison in Karaj, which is one of the most notorious prisons in Iran. The Rajaie Shahr Prison lacks the minimum health and safety standards and has been a house to convicted offenders and inmates charged with drug-related cases. Since then, Behnam has gone on a hunger strike again. He is demanding to be transferred back to the previous prison again and has declared that he will go on a dry hunger strike on December 19, 2014, if the Iranian regime does not arrange his return to the Evin prison by then. On the other hand, the Iranian regime continues to arrest labour activists and independent trade unionists for pursuing their rights to peaceful exercise of their human rights in which is the freedom of association and assembly, and establishment of independent trade unions in Iran. Since the beginning of December, Riybvar Abdullahi, Farzad Moradi, and Fardin Miraki, the 3 members of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations in Iran, have been arrested and according to the news received, Riybvar Abdullahi has severely been bitten and injured that the Iranian regime was forced to send him to the emergency room in the Touhid Hospital to receive medical treatment on December 12, 2014. In the Uromih prison, 27 Iranian Kurdish prisoners are on a hunger strike since a month ago and as a result their condition is very critical and the Iranian regime has fully denied their just demands for having family visitations, access to lawyers, designated wards separated from prisoners who are charged for their criminal activities ,and the rights not to be bitten and receive harsh treatment by the jail security forces for their political opinions .All these are happening in a country that before the 1979 Iranian revolution ,promised to bring another version of freedom to its people that are granted in the most parts of the world today. The only option left before us to save the lives of these labour and political activists from death, is to call upon you, the international labour activists and the human rights defenders to stand with us, be the voice of these prisoners of conscience, and forward our message all over the world. hafteh.de/?p=83992
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 11:29:30 +0000
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