Thirty-four women prisoners went on hunger strike in the Evin Prison on Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, said the foundation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi.
“Today, on the 15th September 2024, 34 female political prisoners in Evin Prison have gone on a hunger strike in commemoration of the second anniversary of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and the killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini,” the foundation said.
Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd whose death in custody after her arrest for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women sparked the demonstrations.
“On the second anniversary of the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement, we reaffirm our commitment to achieving democracy, freedom, and equality and to defeating theocratic despotism,” Mohammadi, who has been in Tehran’s Evin prison since November 2021, said in a statement on her official X account.
Earlier, an Instagram account linked to the jailed activist published an audio clip of female prisoners chanting protest songs and slogans against reformists and conservatives in Iran. They called for the release of prisoners and for an immediate halt to executions in the country.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities imposed tight security measures in Kurdish-majority cities west the country, fearing disturbances on the anniversary of the protests.
Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for both women's rights and the abolition of the death penalty.
Mohammadi's children received the Nobel Peace Price on her behalf in 2023 while she was incarcerated.
She has spent much of the past decade in and out of jail and has staged repeated hunger strikes.
In June 2024, Branch 29 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammadi to one additional year in prison for “propaganda activities against the state.”
According to her family, her sentences now amount to 12 years and three months of imprisonment, 154 lashes, two years of exile, and various social and political restrictions.
