Medical condition of hunger strikers in Erbil Prison now critical

The medical conditions of five hunger striking prisoners from Şêladize and others from the Badinan region in Iraqi Kurdistan have become critical, according to Ayhan Seid, a representative for the Badinan Prisoners, who has called for immediate action, reports Mezopotamya Agency.

Seid issued a written statement recalling that the five activists from Şêladize and others from the Badinan region have been detained at Erbil (Hewler) Prison for 16 months so far. Families of the prisoners who visited on Tuesday observed that the medical conditions of the prisoners had become critical. One of the long-standing hunger strikers has lost consciousness. Other prisoners in serious conditions gave their wills to their families.

The statement also disclosed that the prisoners were experiencing numerous rights violations, that security personnel were torturing them and taking videos of the torture, that the prisoners were denied permission to meet with their lawyers, that statements they made at the inquiry level had been altered and that they had been made to sign the falsified statements under duress.

Hundreds of activists were detained in the Badinan region in Duhok province and elsewhere during demonstrations in 2020, and have been held in detention without access to court for extended periods of time. Eighty prisoners went on a hunger strike in February in protest against unfair trials and poor prison conditions.