PARIS: Iranian dissidents living inside the Islamic republic and in exile Thursday went on hunger strike to protest the surge of hangings in Iran that included most recently a participant in the 2022 protest movement who activists say had mental health difficulties.
Led by jailed 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, those going on the one-day hunger strike ranged from dozens of her cellmates in Tehran’s Evin prison to prominent campaigners living outside the country.
Concern over Tehran’s use of capital punishment has intensified following the hanging on Tuesday of Mohammad Ghobadlou, a 23-year-old sentenced to death over the fatal running down of a police officer during the protests, following a trial activists said was grossly unfair.
According to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, he was one of at least 54 people executed by Iran so far this year.
Mohammadi, who throughout her career has campaigned against Iran’s use of the death penalty, said on the Instagram account run by her family that all 61 women “political prisoners” in Tehran’s Evin prison would be on hunger strike Thursday.
“The imprisoned women will resist to keep alive the names of those who have been executed and spare the lives of hundreds of people in the prisons of the Islamic republic awaiting execution,” her statement said.
The social media account of rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was re-arrested in November, less than two weeks after his release on bail following his detention over supporting the protests, said he would also be joining the hunger strikes.
Other prominent figures inside Iran who spent time in jail over the protests said they were also going on hunger strike, including the singer Mehdi Yarrahi and activist Hossein Ronaghi.
Mohammadi’s Instagram account also published a letter from 37 women who had previously been jailed in Evin, including the British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, saying they would be joining the hunger strike in solidarity with the jailed women.
“Having been in their place in the past and battling like them, we are aware of the cost this act might invoke,” the letter said.
“We will be their voice for the world to hear their message and end the death penalty in Iran.”
US-based dissident Masih Alinejad said she was also taking part in the hunger strike, warning that “solidarity is beautiful, but if we don’t take action... more people on death row will be executed soon.”
Ghobadlou was the ninth man executed by Iran in a case related to the protests, rights groups said, adding he suffered from bipolar disorder and was executed despite an order he should benefit from a retrial.
Iranian dissidents on hunger strike to protest hangings
https://arab.news/5da3p
Iranian dissidents on hunger strike to protest hangings
- Led by jailed 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, those going on the one-day hunger strike ranged from dozens of her cellmates in Tehran’s Evin prison
- Concern over Tehran’s use of capital punishment has intensified following the hanging on Tuesday of Mohammad Ghobadlou
Turkiye to forge on with tight economic policy, some fine-tuning, VP Yilmaz says
- The central bank forecasts inflation between 13-19 percent by end-2026
ISTANBUL: Turkiye is committed to carrying on its tight economic policies in order to cool inflation, and though it may fine-tune the program it will not change course, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said in comments embargoed to Friday.
“There is no plan to pause our program,” Yilmaz said at a briefing with reporters in Istanbul on Thursday. “All programs are dynamic, and adjustments can always be made.”
Yilmaz, who plays a key role overseeing economic policy at the presidency, said any such adjustments would aim to support production, investment and exports while moderating consumption.
Turkiye has pursued tight monetary and fiscal policies for more than two years in order to reduce price pressure, leading to high financing and borrowing costs that have weighed on businesses and households. Inflation has eased slowly but steadily over the last year but remains elevated at 31 percent annually.
Last month, Is Bank CEO Hakan Aran warned that focusing solely on one target — inflation — could create side effects, suggesting a “pause and restart” might be healthy once the program achieves certain targets.
Yılmaz said the government expects improvements in inflation in the first quarter, which should reflect to market expectations for year-end inflation around 23 percent. The government projects inflation to dip as far as 16 percent by year end, within a 13-19 percent range, and falling to 9 percent in 2027. The central bank forecasts inflation between 13-19 percent by end-2026.
Yilmaz noted inflation fell by nearly 45 points despite pressure from elevated food prices, hit by agricultural frost and drought.
The agricultural sector is expected to support growth and help ease price rises this year, which could help achieve official inflation targets, he said.
Yilmaz said the government wants to avoid a rapid drop in inflation that could hurt economic growth, jobs and social stability.
Turkiye’s economic program was established in 2023 after years of unorthodox easy money that aimed to stoke growth but that sent inflation soaring and the lira plunging. The program aims to dislodge high inflation expectations while boosting production and exports, in order to address long-standing current account deficits.
The central bank, having raised interest rates as high as 50 percent in 2024, eased policy through most of last year, bringing the key rate down to 38 percent.
Asked whether lower rates could trigger an exit from the lira currency, Yilmaz said: “What matters is real interest rates. Lowering rates as inflation falls does not affect real rates, so we do not expect such an impact.”
He added that the government will strengthen mechanisms that selectively support companies while improving overall financial conditions.
