On July 26, 2010, seventeen prisoners from Ward 350 of

Evin prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, executed a 16-day

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

to protest solitary confinement, as well as the poor living conditions within the prison. This included the lack of necessary medical treatment, arbitrary detention, denial of access to legal counsel, suspension of visitation privileges and abuse from prison guards. Subsequent to the hunger strike, authorities placed the seventeen prisoners in solitary confinement in Ward 240, while also prohibiting them from making phone calls, visiting their families, or contacting their lawyers. Overall, the action did not achieve its objectives of improving conditions within the prison or gaining access to legal counsel. However, one of the prisoners on strike, Babak Bordbar, was released for unknown reasons on August 10.

Background

On June 12, 2009,

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

was re-elected as President of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, with 62% of the vote. Large irregularities in these results, including a voter turnout of over 100% in both provinces of

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

and

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

, led many people to affirm that the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

was both fraudulent and undemocratic. This event led to several protests resulting in hundreds of arrests, casualties and deaths; while also triggering the

Iranian Green Movement The Iranian Green Movement () or Green Wave of Iran (), also referred to as the Persian Awakening or Persian Spring by the western media, refers to a political movement that arose after the 12 June, 2009 Iranian presidential election and lasted ...

, a political campaign defined by peace and democracy that demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. Within a few days of protest and unrest, thousands of opposition groups and reformist politicians were sent to

Evin Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran. The district consists of an old section filled with orchards and gardens of old houses and a new section with high rises and skyscrapers. It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University campus. It is ...

, a political prison known for its generational populations of

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s and

human rights defenders A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Time period

July 26, 2010 – August 11, 2010 EvinHouseofDetention

Location

Evin Prison Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...

, Northwestern

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Action(s)

Fast Fast or FAST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Fast" (Juice Wrld song), 2019 * "Fast" (Luke Bryan song), 2016 * "Fast" (Sueco song), 2019 * "Fast" (GloToven song), 2019 * ''Fast'', an album by Custom, 2002 * ''Fast'', a 2010 short fil ...

(dry and wet),

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

, march

Hunger strike

On July 26, 2010, seventeen prisoners from Ward 350 of Evin prison executed a 16-day

to protest

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

as well as the poor living conditions within the prison, including lack of necessary medical treatment,

arbitrary detention Arbitrary arrest and detention is the arrest and detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they committed a crime against legal statute, or in which there has been no proper due process of law or order. ...

, denial of access to

legal counsel A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

, suspension of visitation privileges and abuse from

prison guards A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...

These seventeen prisoners included: *Bahman Ahmadi Amoui *Gholam Hossein Arshi *Ebrahim Babei *Babak Bordbar *Majid Darri *Jafar Eghdami *Koohyar Goodarzi *Peyman Karimi-Azad *Ali Malihi *Abdollah Momeni *Hamid Reze Mohammadi *Zia Navabi *Hossein Nouraninejad *Ali Parviz *Keyvan Samimi *Mohammad Hossein Sohrabirad *Majid Tavakoli

Response

Subsequent to the

, authorities placed the seventeen prisoners in solitary confinement in Ward 240, while also prohibiting them from making phone calls, visiting their families, or contacting their lawyers.

Timeline

On August 2, 2010, relatives of the prisoners attempted to visit Evin, but were forced to leave the premises by authorities. On August 4, 2010, family members of the 17 prisoners organized a march to the office of Jeafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran General Prosecutor and demanded their relatives' release from

. On that same day, three of the 17 prisoners went from a wet hunger strike to a dry hunger strike, thus refusing to consume both solids and liquids. On August 7, 2010, prison authorities released Babak Bordbar, one of the 17 political prisoners on strike. On August 8, the father of one of the hunger strikers, Ali Parviz, was arrested for submitting a letter to the Iranian judiciary on behalf of the political prisoners imploring for improved treatment. On August 11, 15 of the prisoners ended their hunger strikes and released a statement specifying that they annulled their hunger strike out of respect to the leaders of the

Green Revolution The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in Developed country , devel ...

who urged them to cease their fasting to "provide movement leadership". After the hunger strike ended, prisoners were forced into solitary confinement for an indefinite time period by prison authorities. Though Iranian law only allows a maximum of 20 days in solitary confinement, five out of the 17 prisoners were threatened with an increased sentence of 6 months. As of today, the majority of the 17 prisoners remain imprisoned in Evin, while a few were transferred to Rajaeeshahr prison on August 15. On 20 December 2018,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

urged the regime in Iran to investigate and find an explanation for the death of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri who had been jailed for insulting the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to his family Nasiri had been on hunger strike but he was denied medical attention before he died.

Outcomes

Overall, the action did not achieve its objectives of improving conditions within the prison or gaining access to

. However, one of the prisoners on strike, Babak Bordbar, was released for unknown reasons on August 10.

Other responses

Since the Islamic Iranian Revolution of 1979, several lawyers, journalists and activists have been

imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for ambiguously defined charges such as "spreading propaganda against the regime", or "insulting the Supreme Leader". Moreover, many fundamental rights of those imprisoned are violated, such as access to legal counsel or freedom from arbitrary imprisonment.

Human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

within Iranian prisons have stimulated many criticisms and controversies among the international community. In 2004, the

United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) is a body of independent human rights experts that investigate cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. Arbitrary arrest and detention is the imprisonment or detainment of an individual, by a State, ...

likened Iran's use of solitary confinement to the Convention Against Torture's definition of inhumane treatment. In 2014, the

Canadian parliament The Parliament of Canada () is the federal legislature of Canada. The Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Commons, form the bicameral legislature. The 343 members of the lower house, the House of Commons, are styled a ...

qualified the prison conditions and the systematic use of torture for extracting confessions as a "crime against humanity." The UN identifies several other practices of the Iranian government that infringe on elements of human rights law, such as

right to life The right to life is the belief that a human (or other animal) has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including: capital punishment, with some ...

, right to freedom and

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, and freedom from cruel punishment.

References

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External links

Amnesty International USA: Prisoners and People at RiskGlobal Nonviolent Action DatabaseReport on Human Rights Practices in Iran for 2011
2010 in Iran Hunger strikes Prison strikes