On May 27, three political Kurdish prisoners ended their hunger strike in Orumiyeh prison after prison authorities promised to pay attention to their request.
“On Tuesday, Sept 19, 2017, three Sunni Kurdish prisoners including Kamran Shikhe, Khosrow Basharat and Anwar Khezri were transferred from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj to the Orumiyeh Central Prison for attendance in their court hearing. These prisoners went on hunger strike after they were transferred to the solitary confinement cells due to protesting against their transfer to ward 3&4 (Ward for prisoners of ordinary crimes).”, an informed source told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
“The prisoners went on hunger strike after being transferred to solitary confinement cells but they ended their strike after 6 days when the prison authorities promised to transfer them to ward 12 (Political Prisoners’ Section) in the coming days,” the source added.
“After ending their hunger strike, all three prisoners were transferred from solitary confinement to the psychotherapy ward 2 and they will be transferred to Ward 12 within the next few days.”, the source continued.
Anwar Khezri, Kamran Shikhe and Khosrow Besharat, were detained by security forces on Dec 7, 2009 along with four other detainees from the cities of Saqez and Mahabad, including Davood Abdollahi, Farhad Salimi, Ghasem Abbas, and Ayoub Karimi. They were all transferred to the Orumiyeh Intelligence Detention Centre.
These religious prisoners were interrogated for about 8 months in the Orumiyeh security forces on Dec 7, 2009 at the Orumiyeh Intelligent Detention Centre on the charge of Moharebeh and were later transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran. They were detained in solitary confinement cells of wards 240 and 209 in Evin Prison for six months, after which they were transferred to Ward 350 of Evin Prison for 20 days. Then they were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj for 20 days on April 25.
The detainees were initially charged with “killing a soldier” during their arrest but later this charge was changed to “engaging in bombings”. These prisoners denied all the allegations against them during their arrest and at the court hearings that began after four years,
In late March, 2016, the trial of these seven prisoners was held at Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Moghaseh on charges of “acting against national security”, “propaganda against the regime”, “membership in Salafi groups” and “Fesad fel Arz (corruption on earth). On May 25, 2016, the death sentence was officially served on them in prison. Their lawyer contested the verdict and the case referred to the Supreme Court which overturned the death sentence late last year(2016).
