Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er, who were arrested and sentenced to death by the KDP, have been subjected to gross violations of their rights since the day they were imprisoned. The two Kurds have been on hunger strike many times to end the oppression and violations of their rights. They last went on a hunger strike on 18 May against the imposition of the prison uniform. As their demands had not been met yet, their protests continued on the 58th day.

In a phone call with his family on 23 June, Mazlum Dağ said that their health condition was bad, there was no doctor or medicine in the hospital, no one had visited them for 10 days, and that Er had lost 20 kilograms and he himself had lost 10 kilograms.

The families of both detainees condemned the increasing pressure on their sons and called on South Kurdistan intellectuals and human rights associations to protect their sons.