Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike Denied Family Visits

The family of Javad Seyedi, an Iranian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for over a week, was barred from visiting him on September 11.

Seyedi's relatives went to Tehran’s Evin prison and were told that visits would not be allowed for one month.

This is the latest in a series of measures against Seyedi and other political prisoners who went on a hunger strike to protest the recent transfer of dozens of political prisoners from Evin to Ghezelhesar prison in Karaj, near the capital.

Seyedi, a 36-year-old father of one, has been denied the right to communicate with his family.

He has been incarcerated since June 2022. 

He is a painter and sculptor who has been critical of the Islamic Republic. 

The 38 political prisoners who were transferred to Ghezelhesar prison also went on a hunger strike on September 5 to protest the move and their dire conditions of detention.

The inmates say they were transferred without warning, a tactic often used by the Iranian authorities to intimidate and silence dissent.

The Iranian authorities, fearing a flare up in protests ahead of the September 16 anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, have ramped up their crackdown on activists in recent months.