The Hana Human Rights Organization has learned that following a collective hunger strike by a number of prisoners in wards 2 and 3 of Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, held in protest against the issuance and execution of numerous death sentences, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic has attempted to discredit the civil nature and legitimacy of this protest movement. By publishing an official report, the judiciary has tried to portray one of the prisoners as the “leader of the strike” in order to distort the image of the protesting inmates.
Hana has been informed that the name of a Kurdish prisoner identified as Ramin Hassan-zadeh Emam-gholi, a native of Quchan in Razavi Khorasan Province, was mentioned in the official statement of the Iranian judiciary, labeling him as a “death row inmate in a drug-related case” and the “leader of the recent hunger strike.”
A knowledgeable source told the Hana Human Rights Organization that the publication of this report is considered a threatening act against the life of this prisoner and may be intended to create fear and intimidation among other protesting inmates.
The source added that this move came despite the fact that after seven days of a collective hunger strike, judicial authorities had promised the prisoners that executions would be temporarily suspended pending a review of certain legal provisions.
However, the judiciary’s recent actions and the release of this new official report indicate that the authorities have abandoned dialogue and accountability, reverting instead to a repressive, propagandistic, and retaliatory approach.
The Hana Human Rights Organization expresses its deep concern over the physical and security conditions of the protesting prisoners—particularly Ramin Hassan-zadeh Emam-gholi—and calls on international human rights bodies to closely monitor developments in Ghezel Hesar Prison and to pressure the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to prevent further violations of prisoners’ rights.