A UN human rights expert expressed concern [press release] Monday for nine human rights activists imprisoned in Iran. Among those activists, eight are believed to be on life threatening hunger strikes, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Asma Jahangir [profile, PDF]. A ninth activist, Arash Saghedi, ended his hunger strike after his wife was released from prison on bail, although there is concern that he is in critical condition and being denied medical attention. Jahangir urged Iranian officials to release the activists, claiming they were arrested for “peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression.” The statement comes just a few weeks after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani [website] unveiled the Citizens’ Rights Charter [text in Arabic], which he says will “promote and strengthen citizens’ rights,” including the freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

The Iranian Parliament passed a law [JURIST report] last January to define what constitutes a “political crime,” as part of Rouhani’s promise of reform. A Tehran Revolutionary Court [official website, in Persian] in April of 2010 sentenced [JURIST report] three prominent progressive activists to six years in prison in connection with protests. The men were high-ranking officials of the Islamic Iran Participation Front [party website, in Farsi], a pro-democracy reformist political party that supported opposition leader Mousavi in the disputed election. Iranian authorities jailed prominent Iranian journalist Mohammad Nourizad [JURIST report] on charges in April of 2010. Also in March 2010 an Iranian appeals court upheld [JURIST report] the death sentence of 20-year-old student Mohammad Amin Valian, wok part in anti-government protests in December.