Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
RFL/RE – The mother of jailed Iranian activist Behnam Mousivand has released a video warning that her son’s physical condition following hunger strikes in prison is poor and asked for help from the international community and human rights organizations to pressure Tehran for immediate medical attention.
In the video, Mousivand’s mother quotes doctors as saying if her son does not receive care of within a day or two he will likely slip into a coma.
Mousivand’s parents recently held a demonstration in front of the Rajaei-Shahr prison to protest against the lack of attention being given to their son’s health.
According to reports from human rights groups, Mousivand launched the hunger strike after authorities at the notorious Evin prison prevented him from being transferred to an offsite medical center despite his deteriorating health condition, with the warden even threatening to transfer him to another prison.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also warned about Mousaviand’s state of health.
The CHRI on September 7 expressed concern about Mousivand’s “precarious health situation,” which is “raising fears of another preventable death in Iranian state custody due to the authorities’ denial of proper medical treatment.”
“Iranian authorities are subjecting Behnam Mousivand to a slow and deliberate death to silence his criticism of state policies,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.
“If the international community does not publicly condemn Iranian authorities’ killing of political prisoners, this will give them a green light to continue to pick them off, one by one, as just another means of silencing dissent,” he said.
Mousivand previously went on a hunger strike in April after being beaten by prison guards for refusing to wear handcuffs and shackles while he was heading to receive medical treatment outside of the prison, where he is serving six years on convictions for “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the system.”
At that time, instead of transferring Mousivand to a health center for treatment, he was moved to a quarantine ward at Evin, on the northern edge of Tehran.
Mousivand, 35, has been arrested several times for his political activism.
