Masoud Shamsnezhad on Day 14 of Hunger Strike
22-December-2014
Category: Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement – Masoud Shamsnezhad, imprisoned lawyer in Uremiaprison, has been on hunger strike for 14 days so far.
According to the report of “Breathing in Confinement”, this lawyer who is currently being held in workers ward of Uremia Central Prison, has gone on hunger strike since Tuesday 9th December.
In this regard, an informed source told “Breath in Confinement’s” reporter, “Mr. Shamsnezhad has been held in Uremia Central Prison since 18th October and since the very beginning has requested the officials to transfer him to political prisoners’ ward and each time his requests were addressed with indifference”.
The source specified: “Mr. Shamsnezhad had been transferred to the ward of prisoners under psychotherapy, and after many times following the issue, he was transferred to the political prisoners’ ward, but just after a few hours, he was transferred to the workers’ ward”.
Psychiatric ward is the ward of prisoners convicted of murder and drug trafficking who are sentenced to death and workers’ ward is the ward of prisoners with the same charges who have not been sentenced to death.
Regarding the reason of hunger strike by this lawyer, he added: “Masoud Shamsnezhad from 9th December has gone on hunger strike in solidarity with political prisoners, who are on hunger strike in prison of Uremia to protest against the ignorance of “separation of wards on the bases of crimes” and the problems with health care condition in prison, and some other prisoners’ rights.”
That is to say, before his detention, he was the lawyer of Kurdish political prisoners, such as Afshari brothers, Hossein Khezri and Habib Golparipour and that was the reason for his detention in 2012 and he was charged with collaborating with his clients and his law license was revoked.
On 9th of May 2013, on charges of membership in the opposition parties (the Kurdish opposition parties) he was detained and transferred to detention of Intelligence Agency headquarters in Uremia and later he was transferred to the central prison of Uremia. On 12th June the same year, he was released on bail of one billion Thomans.
Masoud Shamsnezhad has been charged with to two accusations, propaganda against the regime, through interviews with Kurdish media abroad, publishing false news and also he was charged with membership in opposition groups.
Finally, this lawyer was sentenced to 4 month imprisonment for propaganda against the regime and was found not guilty for the accusation of membership in opposition groups by branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Uremia presided by Judge Sheikhloo. This court verdict was approved by the Appeal Court Branch 10 in West Azerbaijan in September 2013.