The health conditions of prisoners of conscience Iraj Sofi-Mohammad and Qader Mohammadzadeh, who are on the 17th day of their hunger strikes, have been reported to be critical.

Prison officials of Orumiyeh Central Prison have taken Iraj Sofi-Mohammad, who was held in solitary confinement, to the prison infirmary on 13 August after his health condition deteriorated, sources told the KHRN.

Sofi-Mohammad, who has been in solitary confinement since he began his hunger strike on 31 July, refused to be injected with the serum. Prison officials then returned him to solitary confinement.

The religious prisoner went on hunger strike to protest against the opposition of the prison authorities to his transfer to Mahabad, where his family resides.

Kurdish political prisoner Qader Mohammadzadeh’s health condition is also said to be critical.

The prisoner, who is serving the 16th year of his sentence in the prison of Yazd, has been on a hunger strike since 31 July to protest against the refusal of authorities to send him on leave, despite providing the required amount of bail.

Authorities in Orumiyeh and Yazd prisons have, so far, taken no action about the demands of the two prisoners.

On 19 November 2019, security forces had arrested Iraj Sofi-Mohammad, who comes from Mahabad.

On 16 May 2020, Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh – presided over by Judge Ali Sheikhlou – sentenced him to 15 years in prison on charges of “acting against national security” through “membership in religious extremist groups”.

The sentence was then commuted to 10 years in prison after the parliament announced a double-urgency plan to reduce prison terms.

Security forces had also arrested Sofi-Mohammad in 2017. At that time, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh had sentenced him to 18 months in prison on similar charges.

In 2018, he was released from Orumiyeh Central Prison after serving his sentence.

On 20 December 2005, security forces had arrested Qader Mohammadzadeh, a Kurdish civilian from Bukan, along with political prisoner Mohammad Amin Abdollahi, on charges of “membership in a Kurdish opposition party” and “murder of an Iranian military official”.

The two political prisoners were then transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison after being held in solitary confinement in the detention centres of the intelligence ministry in Mahabad and Orumiyeh for several months.

After 15 months of uncertainty regarding his situation, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad sentenced Mohammadzadeh to 18 years in prison and internal exile in Yazd Central Prison on charges of “enmity against God”.

The court also sentenced Mohammad Amin Abdollahi to 18 years in exile in Tabas Prison in South Khorasan province on the same charges.

The verdicts were later upheld by the Court of Appeals of Orumiyeh.

Additionally, the Criminal Court of Mahabad sentenced Mohammadzadeh to “retribution in kind” (qisas) and seven years in prison on charges of “premeditated murder”. This sentence was then dropped in 2013 in the Supreme Court to the payment of blood money as compensation.

Also, in February 2011, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad sentenced Qader Mohammadzadeh to six months in prison in another case on charges of “communicating with foreign media”.