According to reports received by the Karoon Human Rights Organization, on Wednesday, October 14, coinciding with the tenth day of Mokhtar Al-Boushoke’s hunger strike in Arak Prison, Hamzeh Savari, another Arab political prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment and held in Qazalhasar Prison in Karaj, initiated a hunger strike in solidarity with him.
Mokhtar Al-Boushoke resumed his hunger strike on October 6, 2023, after the failure of security officials to fulfill their promise to return him to Sheiban Prison in Ahwaz. Previously, an informed source had told the Karoon Human Rights Organization that Al-Boushoke suffers from pain and kidney issues and has been denied access to appropriate medical care despite suffering from a hernia.
According to received information, his transfer to Arak Prison on January 27, 2023, was carried out illegally under the orders of Amir Khalafian, the prosecutor of Ahwaz. Al-Boushoke had previously ended his hunger strike after receiving a promise of return to Sheiban Prison; however, the failure to fulfill this promise compelled him to resume his hunger strike.
After his transfer to Arak, this political prisoner was sentenced to an additional 10 years and 1 day of imprisonment on new charges of “communicating with political prisoners released from Sheiban Prison.” The continuation of Al-Boushoke’s hunger strike, amid his physical ailments and lack of access to adequate medical care, has heightened concerns regarding his health and life.
Hamzeh Savari’s hunger strike in solidarity with him underscores the urgent need for immediate attention to the conditions of these two political prisoners and the cessation of their medical deprivation.
