Kurdish political prisoner Shahnaz Sadeghifar who has been on a hunger strike since July 30, 2020, in protest to her 15 years prison sentence, is in a critical health condition, a reliable source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
“Shahnaz Sadeghifar has been on a hunger strike since Thursday, July 30, in protest to her 15-year imprisonment sentence issued by the Islamic Revolution Court of Orumiyeh. She has been transferred to the detention centre of the Orumiyeh three times, interrogated and threatened.”, the source added.
According to this source, Ms Sadeghifar’s health condition is deteriorating day by day and there are increasing concerns about her health status due to her heart problem.
She returned to Iran with her daughter Aynaz Zare from Kurdistan last year after receiving an “immunity letter” from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, she was charged with “acting against national security” through membership in the Kurdistan Freedom Party and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
A reliable source in Orumiyeh has told KHRN that “Shahnaz Sadeghifar and her daughter Ainaz Zare moved to Kurdistan a few years ago and joined the Kurdistan Freedom Party for several years. They returned to Iran last October on their family’s insistence and following coordination with the Orumiyeh Revolutionary Guards intelligence organization.”
According to this source, the border guards of “Siranband” in Baneh had detained the two Kurdish civilians after they entered Iran. Following an enquiry made to the Orumiyeh IRGC, they were released but they were asked to attend the military-security institution in Orumiyeh the next day: “Officials told them to spend the night at her father’s house and attend their office the next day to clarify a few matters, but the next day, after referring to the IRGC intelligence unit, she was arrested and interrogated for two months.”, the source added.
The source reported that the woman and her daughter were tortured and security interrogators demanded her to cooperate with IRGC and make forced confessions: “Ms Sadeghi and her 17-year-old daughter, Ainaz Zare, have been in prison for about two months. They were detained under constant interrogations, after which they were transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison. During this period, they were transferred to the IRGC intelligence detention centre near the IRGC’s Al-Mahdi barracks several times for interrogation.”
During this period, she was deprived of the right to have a designated lawyer. Anyaz Zare has also been reportedly tried at the Orumiyeh Juvenile Court, but so far no information has been received about her trial.
According to statistics compiled by KHRN, at least 30 Kurdish civilians have been detained, tried and sentenced to life in prison over the past three years, despite having a warrant and coordination with the security services of IRAN. In at least two cases, “Moharebeh” has been charged with these individuals, which could lead to very severe sentences.
