Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand, two prisoners sentenced to amputation of four fingers of their right hands over “theft”, ended their hunger strike in Tehran prison on 2 June following promises from prison and court officials.
The two prisoners had gone on a hunger strike on 29 May to protest against their transfer from Orumiyeh Central Prison to the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary and the continued uncertainty in their situation.
On 15 May, Rostami, Shahivand, and another of their cellmates named Mehdi Sharafian, were taken from Orumiyeh to Tehran for unknown reasons.
A source familiar with the prisoners’ situation spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) and said that the two prisoners had met with a prison official on the fifth day of their strike. After contacting the head of Branch 3 of the Tehran Criminal Court and being promised that they might be pardoned, they ended their strike.
According to the source, the two prisoners were taken from Hall 2 to Hall 9 of the prison as punishment on the second day of the hunger strike.
The source added: “The news of the transfer of a prisoner from Kermanshah prison to Evin prison [of Tehran] and the execution of this prisoner’s amputation sentence has caused concern among the families of these prisoners regarding the danger of the execution of [the sentences of] these three prisoners.”
News circulating on social media suggests that a prisoner’s sentence to amputate four of his fingers had been executed in Evin Prison in Tehran on 31 May. Reportedly, the prisoner was transferred from Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah to Evin Prison in recent weeks.
After the transfer of the three prisoners, their cases were also referred to Branch 3 of the Enforcement of Judgments Office for criminal cases in Tehran.
Rostami had previously written a letter addressed to the Amnesty Commission of Iran and the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran:
“I, Hadi Rostami, have been sentenced to the amputation of four fingers of my right hand and payment of several billion [Iranian Tomans] worth of restitution of property under case number 100403 at Branch 1 of the Criminal Court of West Azerbaijan province. I have been in prison for five years now. I have been severely tortured in the offices of the intelligence ministry in several cities, including Orumiyeh, Ardabil, and Bandar-e Anzali.”
The prisoner further stated in his letter that he was not aware of 20 of the 28 thefts mentioned in his case and that the court had ordered the brutal amputation of four fingers of his right hand, regardless of his defence in the court.
Branch 13 of the Supreme Court of Iran upheld the sentence and referred it to the Enforcement of Judgments Office of Branch 8 of the Public and Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh for execution.
According to the statistics compiled by the KHRN, there are currently six prisoners convicted of “theft” and sentenced to amputation of four fingers of a hand.
These prisoners are the 33-year-old Hadi Rostami, 37-year-old Mehdi Sharafian, 42-year-old Mehdi Shahivand, 35-year-old Shahab Teymouri, 39-year-old Mehrdad Teymouri, and 40-year-old Kasra Karami.
