Stop Fundamentalism – Hengameh Shahidi, an Iranian woman Journalist and a member of Etemad-Meli Party, headed by Iran’s former presidential candidate, Mehdi Karrubi, has started a hunger strike in the Iranian notorious Evin prison, Iranian news sources say.
Shahidi who has been detained for the past four months, started her hunger strike after she was transferred to the public ward of the prison. She intends to continue her strike until she is freed.
Shahidi has been subject to intense torture and abuse in prison since her arrest.
Shahidi who is a reputable journalist was arrested after the unrest erupted following June elections in Iran.
Sources also indicate that another prisoner, Payman Aref, an imprisoned university student, has joined Shahidi in her hunger strike.
Aref was banned from attending classes after June uprising. He was then arrested and is currently in solitary prison.
While four months has passed since the Iranian post election unrest, arbitrary arrests of journalists, students and others are on the rise.
