Solmaz Hassanzadeh, the detained sister of Mohammad Hassanzadeh, a protester killed during the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ (Woman, Life, Freedom) anti-government uprising in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, has entered the eighth day of a hunger strike in solitary confinement in Orumiyeh Central Prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

Hassanzadeh, who was detained by security forces on 30 July as her family prepared to celebrate the birthday of her late brother Mohammad, began the hunger strike on 6 August in protest at her continued solitary confinement, according to KHRN. She has been denied access to legal counsel and family visits since her arrest.

In a further escalation of pressure on the family, security officers summoned Hassanzadeh’s parents, Dayeh Azimeh and Ahmad Hassanzadeh, to the Ministry of Intelligence office in Bukan on 11 August.

The couple, who have faced repeated harassment from the authorities over the past year, were interrogated for several hours and threatened.

On the day of Solmaz’s arrest, security forces raided the family’s home in Bukan without a warrant and assaulted family members before detaining her and her father.

The family’s mother, Dayeh Azimeh, was also beaten during the raid and later admitted to Gholipour Hospital in Bukan.

The officers confiscated personal belongings during the raid, including mobile phones and a laptop computer.

The father was released from Bukan Prison on bail of 40 billion rials (nearly 80,000 USD) a day after his arrest, but his daughter was sent to Orumiyeh Central Prison, where she was put in solitary confinement.

Mohammad Hassanzadeh was fatally stabbed during the Women, Life, Freedom protests in Bukan on 16 November 2022.

While the security forces claimed to have arrested a person for his murder, the Hassanzadeh family dismissed this as a fabrication and held the security forces responsible for their son’s death.