Jailed Iranian blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has issued a letter of protest two days after starting a hunger strike at Evin Prison.
The Human Rights House of Iran reports that Ronaghi Maleki, who is currently serving a 15-year prison term for his media activities, has written an open letter to Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi to protest his treatment and that of other political prisoners.
Ronaghi Maleki has been repeatedly refused leave from prison to receive medical treatment for his failing kidneys.
In a letter written on Friday, the jailed blogger indicates that he has begun an open-ended hunger strike in protest of “the unjust sentence of 15 years in prison, refusal to grant leave for my kidney treatment and all the psychological and physical pressures I have been subjected to during my arrest.”
He adds that he has written to officials on several occasions about the problems and ailments suffered by prisoners but he received no response. He decided, therefore, that his only recourse for bringing attention to the plight of prisoners was starting a hunger strike.
He also mentions the dire situation of other political prisoners such as Reza Shahabi and Masoom Fardis.
Reza Shahabi, the Iranian labour activist, is already on a hunger strike in protest of his undetermined judicial state after 15 months under arrest.
Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, who ran a blog under the name of Babak Khorramdin, was arrested in the crackdown on protesters following the 2009 presidential elections, which were marred by allegations of widespread vote fraud.
