Inmates in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj continued their hunger strike and sit-in for the fifteenth consecutive day on Monday, July 27, to protest death sentences.
According to a report by the HRANA news agency, the protesting prisoners continue to refuse prison food rations and have staged sit-ins in the ward’s hallway to demonstrate their opposition to executions, particularly in drug-related cases.
HRANA reported that yesterday, on the fourteenth day of the strike, approximately 140 prisoners who were not facing death sentences were transferred from Unit 2 to Hall 3 of Unit 1 in Ghezel Hesar Prison. According to the report, prison authorities decided to retain only death-row inmates in Unit 2.
The report adds that over the past week, hundreds of prisoners have been transferred from Unit 2 to other sections of the prison, though officials have not explained the reason for or manner of these transfers.
The hunger strike in Unit 2 began on Monday, July 13, after six prisoners sentenced to death on drug charges were transferred to solitary confinement. Since then, inmates have refused food and held sit-ins demanding a halt to executions. HRANA reported that several prisoners have also sewn their lips shut in protest.
