Iran: 85 political prisoners on hunger strike in protest against the death sentence against Sharifeh Mohammadi

In continuation of protests against the death sentence against labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, 85 political prisoners in Evin Prison began a hunger strike on Thursday, July 11. A number of imprisoned labor activists also called the verdict “unjust, shocking, crazy and unacceptable” in a statement.

85 political prisoners in Evin Prison began their hunger strike at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10, to protest against the “unjust verdict” of Sharifeh Mohammadi and to express their solidarity with the campaign she supports.

Thirty of these political prisoners are in the women’s section, 30 in section eight and 25 in section four of Evin Prison.

These prisoners announced that they would continue their hunger strike until Thursday, July 11, 11 p.m.

They had previously called on other prisoners and the public to join this protest movement.

Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist held in Lakan Prison in Rasht, was sentenced to death for “rebellion” by Branch 1 of the city’s Revolutionary Court on July 4.

The judge cited Mohammadi’s opposition to executions under the Iranian regime and a report by the Ministry of Intelligence about her membership in the “Coordination Committee for Supporting the Establishment of Workers’ Organizations” as reasons for this accusation.

The imposition of the death sentence on Mohammadi provoked widespread reactions from workers, civil and political activists, as well as a number of independent trade unions.

On Tuesday, July 9, social media users expressed their protest against Mohammadi’s verdict under the hashtag #FreeSharifeh and called for the unconditional release of this labor activist.

Earlier, on July 4, sixteen female political prisoners in Evin Prison joined the campaign to defend Sharifeh Mohammadi by publishing a letter demanding the annulment of her sentence.

They stressed that after seven months of provisional detention, during which he endured torture and interrogation in various detention centres, Mohammadi was sentenced to death “in a threadbare Scenario with baseless accusations” and stated that they stand by her and other prisoners whose lives are in danger.

Mohammadi was arrested on December 5, 2023, on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and later accused of rebellion.

More than a month after her arrest, on January 13, 2024, Mohammadi was beaten by interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence in an attempt to extract a coerced confession from her.

Since coming to power, the Iranian regime has repeatedly arrested, tortured and imprisoned citizens, workers and political activists critical of the government.

Since the start of nationwide protests against the Iranian regime in September 2022, government repression of civil, trade union and political activists, as well as other protesters, has intensified and continues to this day.