Iranian Political Prisoner Dies On Hunger Strike
An young Iranian political prisoner, Adel Kianpour, who was on hunger strike to demand a fair trial for about a week has died in detention in southern Iran.
An young Iranian political prisoner, Adel Kianpour, who was on hunger strike to demand a fair trial for about a week has died in detention in southern Iran.
According to Ahvaz human rights group on Sunday, Kianpour died in the Sheiban prison in the southwestern city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province on Saturday night due to complications caused by the hunger strike without receiving any medical care.
He had embarked on an open-ended strike on December 25 in protest to vague charges brought against him, saying he was deprived from his basic rights, including being held in the political ward.
He was denied the right to have a lawyer during his interrogations after he was arrested in August 2020 upon return to Iran.
He was given a three-year sentence on charges of “spreading propaganda against the regime”, “propaganda in favor of opposition groups” and “disturbing public opinion with the intention of disrupting national security.” It is not clear why he was arretsed initially.
In an audio message to the head of Iran’s Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'I, which was released from prison, he had asked the chief justice, “You said that anyone with security issues who lives abroad should return to Iran and we will help him return to life. Did you mean life in prison?”
