Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi Announce Hunger Strike in Protest of Reza Rasai’s Execution
11-August-2024
Category: executions، Freedom of Expression، Women
10-August-2024
News Group: Freedom of Expression – Execution – Detention – Women – Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement: Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, two university students imprisoned in Evin Prison, issued a statement and announcing a hunger strike on Saturday, 10th August, in protest of Reza Rasai’s execution and in solidarity with the women prisoners in Evin Prison.
According to “Breathing in Confinement,” the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, on Saturday, 10th August 2024, Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, two award-winning students in academic Olympiads who are imprisoned in Evin Prison, went on a hunger strike. These two imprisoned students declared that they would go on a one-day hunger strike in protest of Reza Rasai’s execution and in solidarity with the women prisoners of Evin Prison.
Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi wrote from Evin Prison: “Once again, the Islamic Republic has spilled the blood of one of the best young people of this land, which will undoubtedly result in nothing but anger and uprising. We stand with all our strength against executions, alongside the women prisoners and other prisoners, and as a symbol of this resistance and solidarity, we will go on a one-day hunger strike.”
More about Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi:
Ali Younesi, a computer engineering student at Sharif University of Technology, and Amir Hossein Moradi, a physics student at the same university, were arrested by security forces in Iran on 10th April 2020 and were held in solitary confinement for 59 days. These two students were deprived of the right to have a lawyer for about a year, and according to their families, they were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during their detention.
On Sunday, 17th April 2022, attorney Mostafa Nili announced that the final court session to address the charges against Amir Hossein Moradi and Ali Younesi had been held in Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. The hearings for these two Sharif University students had been held on 3rd July 2021 and 25th January 2022 in Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court.
Ali Younesi, a computer engineering student, and Amir Hossein Moradi, a physics student at Sharif University of Technology, were arrested by the agents of the Intelligence Ministry on 10th April 2020 and transferred to the ministry’s detention center known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison. The arrest of these students was reportedly carried out by plainclothes officers, without presenting a judicial warrant, and involved physical assault.
Gholamhossein Esmaili, spokesperson for Iran’s judiciary, accused these students of collaborating with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran on 5th May 2020.
It is worth noting that Amir Hossein Moradi won a silver medal in the national Astronomy Olympiad in 2017, and Ali Younesi won a silver medal in the national Astronomy Olympiad in 2016 and a gold medal in the Astronomy Olympiad in 2017. Additionally, Ali Younesi brought honor to Iran by winning a gold medal at the 12th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics held in China.