A Kurdish prisoner of conscience named Fereydoun Zakeri-Nasab, has been on a hunger strike since 30 June in the Rajai Shahr prison of Karaj, northern Iran.
The prisoner has been protesting against the delay in the review of his case as well as Tehran’s Public Prosecutor’s insult toward Sunnis in Iran.
On 30 June, the Public Prosecutor of Tehran and a group of 115 judicial officials visited the Rajai Shahr prison.
During a meeting with some prisoners of conscience in the Hosseiniyeh hall of the prison [the meeting hall of Shiite rituals], the prosecutor was reported to have said that “Sunnis do not have the right to live in Iran”. The statement sparked widespread opposition by Sunni prisoners.
On the same day, at least 22 prisoners of conscience in Hall 11, section 4, wrote letters to the deputy director of Rajai Shahr prison, announcing a 3-day hunger strike.
Zakeri-Nasab, who comes from Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah province, is a well-known Kung Fu athlete in the region.
Security forces detained him at his family home in Sarpol-e Zahab in early June 2017.
For about two years, he was subjected to physical and mental torture in the cells of security detention centres in Kermanshah and Tehran for forced confessions.
Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran – presided over by judge Salavati – sentenced Zakeri-Nasab to death on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (fasad fil-arz).
The prisoner of conscience was denied the right to have a lawyer during the trial.
Later, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict and referred the case to one of the branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran for re-consideration.
In addition, Zakeri-Nasab’s mother is currently taking care of his child, who was one year old at the time of his detention.
The prisoner is in a poor mental condition due to years of uncertainty regarding his case, denial of access to medical services, and his child’s condition.
