Abolfazl Ghadiani – Abdollah Momeni

Two of the 12 Iranian political prisoners on a hunger strike in Evin Prison were taken to the infirmary, an opposition website reports

Kaleme reports that on the fifth day of their hunger strike, Abdollah Momeni and Abolfazl Ghadiani were sent to the infirmary after a sharp decline in their health.

The 12 political prisoners began a hunger strike to protest the recent deaths of two other political prisoners, Haleh Sahabi and Reza Hoda Saber, and the authorities’ alleged role in their demise.

Haleh Sahabi died during a furlough from prison when security forces overran her father’s funeral.

Reza Hoda Saber began a hunger strike to protest Sahabi’s death and died 10 days later. His fellow inmates say he was badly beaten on the eighth day of his strike, and the prison authorities are also accused of delaying his transfer to hospital after the onset of his symptoms.

The authorities deny any wrongdoing and claim both prisoners died naturally from heart attacks.

Abdollah Momeni was arrested in the protests that sprang up following the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. He is a prominent student activist and active in the “Free Citizens Election Headquarters” supporting opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi.

In the aftermath of the 2009 election protests many political activists were arrested. Momeni was sentence to almost five years in prison. Karroubi, one of the chief challengers of Ahmadinejad’s victory, is currently under house arrest with his wife.

Abolfazl Ghadiani, at 65, is reportedly the oldest political prisoner in Evin Prison and he suffers from heart complications.

Ghadiani is also a prominent reformist and was arrested during the Ashura Day protests against the 2009 presidential election.

The other 10 political prisoners on hunger strike at Evin are also prominent political activists and journalists, and in the past week several Iranian political figures and human rights advocates have urged them to end their strike over concern for their health.