More than 100 civil society activists in Iran have signed a statement declaring the start of a hunger strike on Saturday in solidarity with political prisoner Warisheh Moradi. According to the statement, which was circulated by the Free Women’s Society of East Kurdistan (KJAR), the activists aim to show support for Moradi’s struggle for human rights. It is not yet clear how long the solidarity hunger strike will last.
Moradi “has voiced her opposition to injustice, inequality and the increasingly unjust death sentences by starting an indefinite hunger strike,” the statement acknowledged. However, the signatories also called for an end to the strike due to Moradi’s deteriorating health, as reported by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) on 24 October. Moradi’s hunger strike, which began on 10 October, is now in its 18th day.
The more than 100 signatories of the statement, who identify themselves as “a group of activists allied with all freedom-loving forces”, announced that their own hunger strike began on 26 October in solidarity with Warisheh Moradi’s action. “Civil resistance requires strength, endurance and perseverance, as this struggle is long and challenging,” the activists stressed, calling for the involvement of the entire civil society in the resistance against the Iranian regime’s inhumane sentences.
Another hunger strike initiative in solidarity with Moradi is taking place in Sweden. A three-day hunger strike organised by the local KJAR committee aims to raise awareness of Moradi’s critical condition and to protest against the issuing and execution of death sentences in Iran.
The mother of executed political prisoner Ramin Hossein Panahi also expressed her solidarity with Moradi, stating, “Your courage and resilience are inspiring, but your health is more important to us.” In her message, she urged Moradi to end her hunger strike due to her deteriorating health. Mother Sharifeh also announced she would participate in a symbolic one-day hunger strike alongside other civil rights activists to show support.
Warisheh Moradi is currently held in Evin Women’s Prison in Tehran. She announced the start of her hunger strike on 10 October with a letter expressing her intention to draw attention to the “domestic killings and daily executions carried out under the guise of political Islam”.
A letter from Evin: Warisheh Moradi declares ‘indefinite hunger strike’ against Iran’s death penalty
In a related development, since the beginning of the hunger strike, the Iranian state has sentenced Moradi and other political prisoners—Pakhshan Azizi, Narges Mohammadi, and Mehbube Razayi—to additional six-month prison terms for “disobeying orders”. Pariwash Moslem received a three-month sentence for “endangering prison security”.
