Five Kurdish citizens have started a hunger strike in the Central Prison of Ilam since five days ago. They are Mehrdad Qaisarbaigi, 34 and married, Ayoub Geravand, 36 and married, Younes Geravand, 26, Navid Mohammad Nejad, 26 and a Wushu martial arts instructor, and Shahriar Faryadian all of whom come from the city of Sarableh, in the western province of Ilam.
These individuals were transferred to the detention facility after spending a week in the custody of the Department of Intelligence in Ilam. The city’s prosecutor has refrained from addressing their case, despite numerous requests from the detainees’ families.
The hunger strike, which began on July 23, is a protest against what the detainees perceive as illegal detention and the prosecutor’s failure to address their case.
These detainees were subjected to physical and psychological torture for a week to extract forced confessions from them while under the custody of the Department of Intelligence in Ilam.
Mehrdad Qaisarbaigi and Ayoub Geravand had been arrested by government forces in November 2022, during nationwide protests in the city of Sarableh.
