Kurdish political prisoner Verisheh Moradi ended her hunger strike today after 20 days, following appeals from activists, local and international organisations and fellow inmates in the women’s ward of Evin prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR), began her strike against the death penalty in Iran on 10 October to coincide with World Day Against the Death Penalty.
The political prisoner has reportedly lost 9 kilos during her 20-day hunger strike and has suffered serious health problems, including dizziness, nausea and low blood pressure, particularly in recent days.
Her deteriorating health prompted a social media campaign on 28 October by civilians and civil rights activists inside and outside Iran, urging her to end the strike and calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Iran. The campaign attracted messages of support and concern for her wellbeing from both local and international supporters.
Moradi, who is being held on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), had been undergoing physiotherapy for joint and back pain for several months prior to her strike. She has since stopped her treatment.
In a letter published by Radio Zamaneh a few days after she began her hunger strike, Moradi explained her reasons for going on hunger strike: “Do not let the transnational wars overshadow the internal repression. My hunger strike is part of that effort. We will not at any cost allow the voices of the internal fighters who have bravely stood up to be drowned out by the noise of wars and futile adventures”, she wrote.
The political prisoner remains committed to the hunger strike, writing: “I will continue my indefinite hunger strike until the protests and the clear, explicit stance of the ‘No to Executions’ campaigns around the world, launched by groups, organisations, and international bodies to stop the executions, bear fruit.”
Moradi’s case was reviewed in two court sessions at the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, in June and October this year, with the hearings presided over by Judge Abolghassem Salavati.
She had previously refused to attend an earlier hearing on 4 August in protest against the death sentences handed to fellow Kurdish political prisoners, Pakshan Azizi and Sharifeh Mohammadi, leading to the postponement of the session.
On the same day, Moradi had her letter and defence statement published on the Bidarzani website, announcing her refusal to attend the court session as a form of protest against the death sentences handed down to Azizi and Mohammadi.
In part of her letter published by Bidarzani website, Moradi wrote: “The unjust execution sentences of activists Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi within less than a month is the Islamic Republic’s admission of its political ineffectiveness and helplessness. The new government’s pretence of strength, fear-mongering and expansion of repression on the brink of the Women, Life and Freedom revolution is nothing but a vain illusion. In this context, I have been accused of ‘armed insurrection’ because I am a woman, a Kurd and I want to live in freedom. Now, after a year of temporary detention, I am waiting for the second court session in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati, on 4 August. Although I know that not attending the court could be interpreted as a refusal to defend myself, I will not go to court in protest against the death sentences handed down to my comrades Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi, and I do not recognise a court that does not issue fair judgments.”
Continuing her letter, she wrote: “On 1 August 2023, I was arrested by the forces of the Ministry of Intelligence at the Sanandaj-Kamyaran checkpoint. Shooting, breaking car windows, torture and physical assault at the moment of arrest, psychological warfare, interrogation in solitary confinement (white torture) away from cameras to prevent recording of their misconduct and unethical assaults, and humiliation in front of the camera to break my will – these were part of the pressures I endured during the 13 days I spent in the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj. They called me savage and said I had lost my femininity! Why do you not cry? When was the last time you cried? When did you last smell a flower? Then they transferred me to Ward 209 of Evin House of Detention, where I spent four and a half months under intense pressure during interrogations that included torture, contradictory and deceptive fabricated scenarios, threats of character assassination and forced confessions. Severe headaches and constant bleeding (from the nose), worsening neck and back pain were the gifts of my days in solitary confinement.”
The first hearing, originally scheduled for 13 May, was cancelled for undisclosed reasons, and on 14 May Judge Salavati ordered Moradi’s transfer to solitary confinement in Ward 209 for further interrogation.
Pakhshan Azizi and Moradi went on a hunger strike for two days in protest at the transfer.
Moradi, a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women Society (KJAR) from Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on 1 August 2023 at the entrance to Sanandaj upon her return from Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, where she had been involved in political and organisational activities.
She spent the first 13 days of her detention in the detention centre of this security institution in Sanandaj, and afterwards was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran.
During this period, she was subjected to pressure and threats to make forced confessions, and on 26 December 2023, after five months of solitary confinement, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.