Hossein Kamangar, a Kurdish activist who has been temporarily detained for the past seven months, has gone on hunger strike in protest to his continued arrest and uncertain condition as well as pressure on him to make forced confessions.

“During the past few days, relatives and families of Hossein Kamangar have gathered several times in front of the Sanandaj Intelligence Bureau and demanded information about his fate. Eventually, one of the relatives of the activist was summoned to the News Department of the Intelligence Office and one of the security interrogators told him that Kamangar had been on hunger strike since July 18, 2019.”, a source in Kamyaran told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).

According to this source, security interrogators have claimed that Hossein Kamangar had been transferred to the Kamyaran Prison from the Ministry of Intelligence Detention Centre in Sanandaj in the past few days and he would be allowed to contact his family soon. They also urged the family to stop him from continuing his hunger strike. Otherwise, he would have to endure heavy consequences.

Despite the claims made by security interrogators that the activist had been transferred to the Kamyaran prison, there has been no information over his fate since Feb 6, 2019. Meanwhile, Nasrin Naghdi and Nahid Kamangar (wife and son of this Kurdish activist) have been repeatedly summoned and interrogated by the Kamyaran Intelligence Bureau during the past few months.

KHRN has obtained information that Hussein Kamangar appears to be still under pressure to make forced confessions about participation in the killing of Kuhsar Fatehi, Ambulance driver of the Kamyaran city’s Red Crescent Directorate, last July.

Hossein Kamangar was arrested on January 5, 2019 following the massive arrests of environmental activists and members of the Kurdistan branch of National Unity Party in Kamyaran. Some of these detainees were released on heavy bails after a few months, but this activist is still being detained along with two other Kamyaran civilians, “Khaled Zamani and Bassam Moradi”.