Iran political prisoner sews lips shut to protest detention - rights group
A Kurdish political prisoner in Iran began a hunger strike by sewing his lips in protest at being denied family visits and prison leave, a rights group said on Tuesday.
A Kurdish political prisoner in Iran began a hunger strike by sewing his lips in protest at being denied family visits and prison leave, a rights group said on Tuesday.
Nayeb Askari, who is serving a 15-year sentence at Orumiyeh Central Prison in northwest Iran formally informed prison authorities that he had started a hunger strike and sewed his lips on December 13, France-based rights group Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said.
In a letter to prison officials, Askari said he had been barred from family visits for the past year without explanation and that repeated requests for temporary prison leave had gone unanswered. He launched the hunger strike after prison authorities failed to respond to his complaints, he added.
Askari, from Orumiyeh, was arrested on March 24, 2021, by intelligence agents from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was initially held at the IRGC’s Al-Mahdi detention center for three months, where he was allegedly subjected to physical and psychological torture, according to KHRN.
"He was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture in order to extract forced confessions," KHRN said. "He was also denied access to a lawyer and contact with his family during this period," the rights group added.
Askari's arrest followed his return to Iran from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq after receiving what the rights group described as a “safe-conduct letter” arranged through the IRGC.
Iranian authorities initially sentenced Askari to death in absentia in 2018 on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) linked to alleged membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), according to KHRN. The sentence was later overturned, and the charge was amended to “armed insurrection” (baghi).
In October 2023, Askari was again sentenced to death on the same charge, prompting a brief hunger strike. The Supreme Court later overturned the ruling for a second time and referred the case to another court branch.
In mid-October 2024, Askari was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 900 million rials (about $700) on charges of “armed insurrection,” the rights group said.
KHRN said Askari has previously staged prolonged hunger strikes in detention, including a 32-day strike in 2021 to protest authorities’ refusal to transfer him to an external hospital for medical treatment.
