Kurdish political prisoner Keyvan Rashozadeh was transferred to solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province yesterday for protesting against the conditions in the political prisoners’ ward.
Rashozadeh went on hunger strike the same day in response to his placement in solitary confinement.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that during a visit by prison officials on 5 September, a group of political prisoners objected to the use of drugs by some other inmates in the rooms of this particular ward.
Following a confrontation between the political prisoners and prison officials, Rashouzadeh and Kamran Ghassemi were taken to the reception area by prison guards.
While Ghassemi was returned to the ward after a few hours, Rashouzadeh was transferred to solitary confinement.
The prisoner has been on hunger strike since yesterday in protest at his solitary confinement.
In addition, Rashozadeh has been subjected to restrictions on communication and visits with his family by order of the prison authorities.
Background
On 8 October 2019, security forces arrested Rashozadeh along with four other civilians named Omid Saeidi, Kamran Ghassemi, Nayeb (Massoud) Hajipour and Abdolaziz Golmohammadi.
After a month of interrogation in the Ministry of Intelligence detention centre in Orumiyeh, these civilians were transferred to the juvenile section of Orumiyeh Central Prison.
In December 2020, after a year of uncertainty in prison, Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh sentenced them each to 10 years and one day in prison.
It charged the civilians with “acting against national security” through their membership of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.
The sentence was later commuted to seven years and six months.
In December 2020, Rashozadeh, Ghassemi and Saeidi went on a week-long hunger strike to protest against the uncertainty of their situation, the pressure from the Ministry of Intelligence and the failure of the prison authorities to respect the principle of separation of crimes in the juvenile section of Orumiyeh Central Prison.
