Dry Hunger Strike by Hamideh Zerai in Lakan Prison, Rasht
Hengaw; Saturday, June 8, 2024
Hamideh Zerai, a Gilak resident of Karaj who was violently arrested last Wednesday, has gone on a hunger strike in Lakan Prison, Rasht, to protest her illegal detention. She was also arrested and imprisoned during the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
According to a report received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Hamideh Zerai, political prisoner from Rasht and a resident of Karaj, has started a dry hunger strike in Lakan Prison, Rasht, from the early morning of Saturday, June 8, 2024, to protest her illegal detention and the violence inflicted during her arrest.
A close relative of the Zerai family stated that Hamideh Zerai has announced she will continue her hunger strike and refrain from eating and drinking until she is released.
Hamideh Zerai was arrested for the third time in the past two years on Wednesday, June 5, after being summoned to Rasht Court, and was transferred to Lakan Prison, Rasht. Hengaw has learned that she had a brief phone call with her family.
While serving her exile sentence, Hamideh Zerai reported to the Golsar neighborhood police station in Rasht every three days. She was summoned to court after refusing to wear the chador as ordered by the head of the police station.
Previously, she was sentenced by Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Karaj, presided over by Judge Mousa Asef ol-Hosseini, to one year of imprisonment for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran," which was reduced to nine months upon submission to the ruling.
Additionally, Hamideh Zerai was sentenced to two years of travel ban, two years of prohibition from social media presence, and two years of compulsory residence in the city of Rasht as supplementary punishment.
She was barred from attending her court session on November 6 of last year for failing to observe the mandatory dress code.
This political prisoner was arrested on November 3, 2022, during the fortieth-day memorial ceremony for Hadis Najafi and subsequently transferred to Kachouii Prison. She was finally released on February 7 of last year following the issuance of a "pardon" decree.
Hamideh Zerai was arrested for the second time on May 29, 2023, in Karaj and transferred to Kachouii Prison to serve her sentence. She was released from prison on February 21 of last year after serving her sentence.
