Khatami, Former Political Prisoners and Ailing Mother Convince Ali Shariati to End 75-Day Hunger Strike
Requests by prominent reformist leader Mohammad Khatami, political prisoners, and his ailing mother ultimately convinced imprisoned civil rights activist Ali Shariati to halt his hunger strike, after 75 days, on January 14, 2017.
“Ali ended the hunger strike because of my health problems and after requests from a group of political prisoners and (former president) Mohammad Khatami, who had talks with the prison officials,” Shariati’s mother, Shayesteh-ol-Sadat Shahid, told the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
The long-time supporter of President Hassan Rouhani began his hunger strike in Evin Prison the day he began serving his five-year sentence, on October 31, 2016, for “acting against national security by participating in a protest against acid attacks in front of [Parliament] on October 22, 2014.” He is protesting “against his forced return to prison to serve a sentence that has no legal basis,” Shahidi told the Campaign on November 2016.
Shariati will continue demanding a review of his case through the courts, his sister, Hoda Shariati, tweeted on January 14.
On January 13, a number of former political prisoners including Bahareh Hedayat, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Ahmad Zeidabadi, and Keyvan Samimi gathered at Shariati’s family home and urged him to end his hunger strike out of serious concern for his health. Their collective plea was made public via Twitter.
Thousands also used the hashtags SOSALI# andAll4Ali# on Twitter to bring attention to Shariati’s plight between January 14 and 16.
On January 11, 2017 Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi defensively criticized media coverage of the ongoing wave of hunger strikes in Iran by political prisoners, as well as the public request by conservative member of Parliament Ali Motahari for the Judiciary to review Shariati’s case.
