According to reports received by Hana Human Rights Organization, Nayeb Askari, a Kurdish political prisoner currently serving the fifth year of a 15-year sentence in Orumiyeh Central Prison, has launched a hunger strike in protest against the prolonged denial of family visits and the refusal to grant him prison leave.
Sources familiar with the case told Hana that Mr. Askari began his protest on Saturday, 13 December 2025. He formally notified prison authorities of his hunger strike and stated that the action was taken in response to what he described as persistent and unjust restrictions imposed on him. In his written statement, he emphasized that for more than a year he has been denied family visits without any explanation or legal justification, and that all his requests for temporary leave have gone unanswered.
Nayeb Askari, a political prisoner from Orumiyeh County, was arrested on 24 March 2021 by forces affiliated with the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was held for three months in the IRGC’s Al-Mahdi detention center before being transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison.
His arrest came despite the fact that he had returned to Iran after several years of residence in the Kurdistan Region, reportedly under a written guarantee and in coordination with an IRGC member identified as Hossein Khosh-Meram.
Mr. Askari had previously been sentenced to death in absentia on charges of “enmity against God,” a verdict that was later overturned following an appeal, with the charge amended to “armed rebellion.” Ultimately, after a judicial process described as opaque and while he was denied access to legal counsel, he was sentenced in October 2024 to 15 years of imprisonment and fined 900 million rials.
The political prisoner has previously staged multiple hunger strikes to protest what he has described as inhumane prison conditions, including denial of medical care and treatment.
Hana Human Rights Organization has expressed serious concern over Nayeb Askari’s physical condition and overall well-being, calling for an immediate end to unlawful pressure against him. The organization urges authorities to ensure his basic rights, including access to family visits, prison leave, and medical care, and to provide an independent and fair review of his case.