Iranian judiciary official: Ganji hunger strike a sham News
Iranian judiciary official: Ganji hunger strike a sham

[JURIST] Senior Teheran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said Monday it was a lie that jailed Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji [Wikipedia profile; advocacy website], who supporters claim has not eaten for 67 days, was on hunger strike. The situation involving Ganji has provoked comments of concern from the White House, European Union and human rights groups. They have called on Iran to release Ganji, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2001 for "collecting confidential information harmful to national security and spreading propaganda against the Islamic system" after he wrote stories linking officials to the murder of political dissidents. Iran’s judiciary said last week that Ganji was no longer on hunger strike [JURIST report]. Mortazavi insists Ganji and his supporters were lying about the hunger strike and said the journalist ate dates, syrup, sugar and nuts while in jail, all while claiming he was on a hunger strike. Reuters has more.