Authorities in Orumiyeh Central Prison, northwestern Iran, continue to hold Kurdish activist Mohammad Houshangi in solitary confinement on the 13th day of his hunger strike, denying him communication with his family.
Houshangi has been on a hunger strike since 23 February, protesting against his continued detention and the objection of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to his temporary release despite the payment of bail.
On 26 February, prison authorities ordered his transfer to solitary confinement, three days after he started the strike.
No information has been released on the activist’s health for the past 10 days.
In early February, after 14 months of Houshangi’s temporary detention, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, informed the activist’s family that the bail amount for his temporary detention had been reduced to two billion Tomans – nearly 80,000 USD.
The family, who reside in a village in Javanrud, Kermanshah province, travelled several times to Mahabad and took the necessary administrative steps for providing the bail for the release of their son.
While the family was expecting Houshangi’s release on 16 February, the Islamic Revolutionary Court told them that his detention would continue due to the opposition of the Intelligence Organisation of the IRGC and continuing investigations.
On 10 January 2021, the Intelligence Organisation of the IRGC arrested Houshangi in Tehran during a wave of widespread arrests of Kurdish activists and civilians.
They took the activist to the Haft-e Tir detention centre of the security institution in Orumiyeh.
After six months, he was transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison following the issuance of a temporary arrest warrant.
