Mohammad Nazari on 89th Day of his Hunger Strike begs to be heard

Mohammad Nazari was arrested aged 23 in May 1994 by Revolutionary Guards officials in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province. He was held for over a month in solitary confinement, first by the Revolutionary Guards and then by the Ministry of Intelligence.

He was condemned to death for allegedly being a member of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI). Later, in 1999, he received a pardon that reduced his sentence to life imprisonment.

The health of prisoner of conscience Mohammad Nazari, 46, who has spent half of his life in prison, has seriously deteriorated as a result of his prolonged hunger strike.

He has undertaken a hunger strike since 30 July in protest at his unjust imprisonment and the refusal of the authorities to review his conviction and sentence, which followed a grossly unfair trial and stemmed from his peaceful support of the political goals of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).

He has lost about 25 kilograms in weight, his blood pressure has repeatedly dropped, and he has become so physically weak that he can no longer walk or talk. He also suffers from several general health problems including heart disease, for which prison doctors have long said he requires specialized medical care outside prison. The authorities have consistently ignored such advice.

Nazari has been behind bars for the past 24 years in several prisons in cities of Mahabad, Urmia, and Rajaee Shahr (Gohardasht) without any leave of absence.

Nazri’s message to the world

“Do not leave me alone, I have no one else left, no father, no mother, no brother, where all of them were buried in the tomb of Bukan. You are my only hope. Help me so that the world can hear my appeal. I can do nothing but to go on a hunger strike and die to get rid of this suffering, help me to have my right to be free that they took off me, otherwise I will go on hunger strike to death, and go where my father, my mother and my brother were buried in Bukan.”