Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj: Afghan prisoner Nabi Bayati dies following hunger strike

Hengaw: Thursday, May 8, 2025

Nabi Bayati, an Afghan national imprisoned in Karaj’s Ghezel Hesar Prison, has died after initiating a dry hunger strike to protest degrading treatment and punitive actions by prison authorities.

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Bayati initiated the hunger strike after being transferred to Ward 1 of Ghezel Hesar Prison, one of the facility’s most overcrowded and high-security sections. He cited discriminatory and degrading behavior by authorities as the reason for his protest.

Sources inside the prison reported that Bayati and three other inmates were initially placed in a solitary confinement cell known as “Dar-Basteh,” following accusations of involvement in a physical altercation. The group was later moved to a high-tension unit under the order of Esmail Farajnezhad, deputy prison warden. Bayati began his hunger strike shortly after this transfer.

Despite repeatedly informing officials of his hunger strike, prison authorities ignored his condition and intensified his punishment by relocating him to the hallway of Ward 9—a transit area—where he was denied access to basic necessities.

No medical response was provided during the hunger strike, which lasted four days and resulted in his death.