Kurdish political prisoner, Varisha Moradi, began an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, October 10, protesting the surge in death sentences, the continued extension of her detention, and her denial of visitation rights with family and legal representation.
It has been nearly a year since the political prisoner Varisha Moradi was arrested and placed in a state of uncertainty. Her first court session was held on June 16, 2024, in Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. The charges against her include armed insurgency (Bagh-ye) and membership in opposition groups against the regime.
Since mid-May 2024, Varisha Moradi has been deprived of in-person meetings and phone calls with her family and lawyer. This illegal action has put additional psychological pressure on her, indicating the authorities’ efforts to break her spirit.
In the Sunday, June 16, 2024, court session, the judge did not allow her lawyers to defend their client. This move is a blatant violation of the legal rights of the prisoner and highlights the oppressive behavior of the Iranian judiciary. The second court session addressing the charges against Varisha Moradi was held on October 6.
Varisha Moradi is a women’s rights activist and a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR). She was abducted on August 1, 2023, in Kermanshah, on her way to Sanandaj in western Iran.
She was transferred from the Sanandaj Intelligence Department detention center to Ward 209 of Evin Prison by the end of August. On December 26, 2023, after the interrogation process was completed, Moradi was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison.
Varisha Moradi, who is originally from Sanandaj, was charged in January by the Fifth Investigative Branch of the Tehran Public Prosecutor’s Office. Her case was then referred to the 15th Branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of “armed rebellion” for membership in an opposition group.
According to reports, Varisha spent the first five months of her imprisonment in solitary confinement in the detention center of the Intelligence Department in Sanandaj and in Ward 209 in Evin Prison, where she was severely tortured to make false confessions against herself.
The indefinite detention of prisoners without due process is a severe human rights violation, breaching Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under international human rights laws, every detained individual has the right to be promptly informed of the reasons for their arrest and to receive a fair and timely court appearance.
