Kurdish political prisoner Kianoush Cheraghi has sewn his lips shut in Ilam Central Prison on the fifth day of a dry hunger strike, protesting the revocation of his electronic ankle tag and the physical assault he suffered during his transfer to prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.

Cheraghi, from Dehloran, Ilam Province, was released on electronic monitoring while serving a two-year sentence in Ilam Central Prison.

However, on 25 January, Branch Six of the Ilam Appeals Court revoked his release order, and on 12 February, he was summoned back to prison.

On 16 February, security forces raided his home in Dehloran and severely beat him as he was being transferred to prison.

In response, the prisoner began a dry hunger strike upon his arrival at Ilam Central Prison, protesting both the removal of his electronic monitoring and the violence he suffered at the hands of security officers.

On 20 February, on the fifth day of his hunger strike, he sewed his lips shut while being held in quarantine at the prison.

His health is reportedly deteriorating as he continues his dry hunger strike.

Cheraghi, a former employee of the Dehloran Social Security Office, was arrested twice between 27 September and 3 October 2023 for posts on his personal Instagram page commemorating the anniversary of the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom uprising. He was released on bail on 7 October.

In October 2023, Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam sentenced him to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state”.

In a separate case, on 6 November 2023, Branch 101 of the Dehloran Criminal Court sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and additional penalties for “spreading false information with the intention of disturbing public opinion through online platforms”.

On 24 March 2024, Cheraghi was again arrested and sent to Ilam Central Prison after being summoned by the Enforcement of Judgements Office of the Dehloran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office.