Arash Sadeghi

Arash Sadeghi (Persian: آرش صادقی‎), is an Iranian human rights activist[2][3] and political prisoner known best for his hunger strike as an act of protest against the detention of his wife without any judiciary proof or legal warrant. Arash was a university student in Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran where he was expelled by the authorities due to his political activities.

Arash Sadeghi
Portrait of Sadeghi by Marc Nelson
Nationality Iran
Known forHuman rights activism.
Spouse(s)Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee[1]

Sadeghi ended his hunger strike after 71 days after his wife was granted temporary release from prison.[4]

Activism

He was first arrested on July 9, 2009 after the results of the controversial 2009 Presidential Election were announced due to which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be kept in power for a second term. He was then taken to custody from which he was released after 90 days. He was arrested again for a second time in December of the same year.

In 2013 he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the following charges: propaganda against the government, defamation of the supreme leader, and threatening national security.[5][6]

Arash went on a hunger strike on October 24, 2016[7] to protest against the arrest of his wife who was detained on the charge of writing a fiction which has not yet been published.[8][9] The short story was handwritten in her personal diary which was confiscated in a raid by government security agents. Her short personal story in her journal was about Stoning Women to death which has been carried out by the Iranian judiciary.

Mother's Death Due to Security Forces' Raid

During an earlier raid by Iranian security forces in 2010 when he was not home, his mother suffered a heart attack and died a few days later in hospital as a result of the heart attack. The security agents kept ransacking the house while she laid on the floor due to the heart attack.[10]

There are multiple campaigns currently raising awareness about his condition.[11]

Cancer affliction and denied treatment

Arash Sadeghi has been diagnosed with a bone tumor.[12] Amnesty criticized the Iranian authorities for “disregarding medical advice which recommends his immediate transfer to a facility specializing in cancer treatment.”[13]

He has been suffering pain in his shoulder for several months, but the prison clinic in Raja’i Shahr, Karaj, has been prescribing antiinflammatory drugs. Finally he received an X-ray in May of this year and later an MRI.[14]

Hunger strike

Sadeghi has been on hunger strike for several time and for this, he suffers from kidney and stomach ailments.

The last time he went of hunger strike in protest of the detention of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee.[15]

Twitter Campaign

On the 68th day of his strike, Iranian Twitter users started a widespread campaign to raise awareness about Arash Sadeghi's critical condition; consequently, the hashtag #SaveArash became the number 1 trending hashtag on Twitter.[16][17]

References
  1. "Iranian activist in critical condition on 68th day of hunger strike". The Daily Dot. 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  2. "تاریخچه پرونده: آرش صادقی". Frontline defenders.
  3. "Iran: Writer facing imminent imprisonment for story about stoning". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  4. "Jailed Iranian activist ends hunger strike after wife freed". BBC News. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  5. "بازداشت و انتقال آرش صادقی به بند دو-الف زندان اوین". Radio Zamane.
  6. "آرش صادقی برای اجرای حکم ۱۹ سال زندان بازداشت شد". Persian Deutsche Welle.
  7. https://globalvoices.org/2016/12/29/iranian-civil-rights-defender-continues-hunger-strike-protesting-his-wifes-arrest-for-fiction-writings/
  8. "آرش صادقی پس از یک ماه و نیم به اعتصاب غذا در زندان ادامه می‌دهد". Persian VOA.
  9. "آرش صادقی از زندان به بیمارستان منتقل شد". Persian Radio France.
  10. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/23/iran-activists-jailed-speaking-out
  11. Iranian Civil Rights Defender Continues Hunger Strike, Protesting His Wife's Arrest For Fiction Writings
  12. https://irannewswire.org/seriously-ill-iranian-political-prisoners-intentionally-denied-medical-treatment/
  13. https://www.amnesty.org.au/act-now/iran-treatment-for-arash/
  14. https://en.radiofarda.com/a/amnesty-iran-activist-sadeghi-transfer-cancer-center/29346599.html
  15. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/02/iran-three-activists-on-hunger-strike-after-violent-prison-transfer/
  16. آرش صادقی، زندانی سیاسی ترند اول جهانی در توییتر شد., آرش صادقی، زندانی سیاسی، برای ساعاتی به ترند اول جهانی در شبکه توییتر تبدیل شد..
  17. "Iranian Civil Rights Defender Continues Hunger Strike, Protesting His Wife's Arrest For Fiction Writings · Global Voices". Global Voices. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.