Amnesty InternationalIranian trade unionist and prisoner of conscience Jafar Azimzadeh, a welder and the Chair of the Free Union of Workers of Iran, has lost consciousness several times since his transfer to Sina Hospital in Tehran on 18 June from Evin Prison, where he is serving a six-year prison term in connection with his peaceful trade union activities. His health deteriorated after he started an indefinite hunger strike on 29 April, in advance of International Workers' Day on 1 May. He began the hunger strike in protest at the arrest and conviction of himself and other trade unionists and teachers on trumped-up national security-related charges; the repression of trade unionists’ peaceful assemblies and strikes; the ban on independently organized events for International Workers' Day and World Teachers’ Day; and the continuing existence of wages that fall below the poverty line. Jafar Azimzadeh is refusing food and medication in hospital but has allowed doctors to administer intravenous fluids to him. In addition to losing consciousness, he is experiencing heart palpitations, intestinal bleeding and kidney, bladder and urinary problems; his hearing and eyesight have become impaired, and he feels dizzy and has trouble walking. He is also experiencing numbness on the left side of his body. The Prosecutor General of Tehran has dismissed his family’s pleas for help, saying that he will not do anything even if it means that Jafar Azimzadeh will die. This is despite a letter from the Legal Medicine Organization of Iran (a state forensic body) declaring that Jafar Azimzadeh should be released on medical leave.
Click here for ENTIRE Urgent Action.
