Last Saturday, 12 political detainees in Evin Prison began a hunger strike, protesting the recent deaths of activists Haleh Sahabi and Hoda Saber and the general conditions for prisoners.
A campaign of support has arisen inside and outside Iran, featuring video messages to the hunger striker and to the general public.
Journalist Masih Alinejad, now living in exile in Britain:
Journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained for four months after the 2009 Presidential election:
Other videos, including messages from cartoonist Nikahang Kowsar, lawyer and activist Mehranghiz Kar, and academic Hamid Dabashi, have been posted at Iranian.com.
The 12 hunger strikers are Emad Behavar (head of the Freedom Movement’s Youth Branch); Ghorban Behzadian Nejad (advisor for Mir Hossein Mousavi); Bahman Ahmadi Amoui (journalist); Abdollah Momeni and Hassan Asadi Zeidabadi (Central Council of the alumni association Tahkim-e Vahdat Alumni Association); Amir Khosrow Dalirsani (Nationalist-Religious Coalition); Abolfazl Ghadyani and Feizollah Arabsorkhi (Mojahedin of Islamic Revolution Organization); Mohammad Javad Mozaffar (publisher and Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Defense of Political Prisoners in Iran); Mohammad Reza Moghisseh (journalist and member of the Mousavi/Karroubi post-election fact-finding committee); Mohammad Davari (Chief Editor of Saham News); and Mehdi Eghbal (Islamic Iran Participation Front).