Iranian of the Day

Saham News: Imprisoned Iranian blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki started a hunger strike on Wednesday, May 23, 2012, to protest the prison authorities' refusal to release him on furlough to seek medical treatment for his critical kidney failure.

According to reports, Ronaghi Maleki's left kidney has failed and his right kidney is 20% damaged. His father told Saham News earlier this week that "several IRGC operatives are trying to murder my son." He added, "the Prosecutor's Office and prison authorities have not cooperated much so far, but there are several IRGC operatives who, for some reason, have a personal animosity and differences of opinion with me and as a result they slow down the review process of Hossein's case. These individuals have repeatedly threatened me and my son in the past and had told me, 'your son is in our hands and we can kill him.'"

Hossein Ronaghi Maleki is a blogger and a human rights activist who blogged under the name "Babak Khorramdin." Ronaghi Maleki was arrested for his role in disseminating anti-blocking software for internet users in Iran. He spent ten months in solitary confinement inside IRGC's Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, and was eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of “membership in the Iran Proxy internet group,” “propagating against the regime,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “insulting the President.”

Read more:

* Imprisoned Blogger Will Get Medical Leave Only If He Confesses, Say Authorities
* Blogger Returned to Prison Two Days After Surgery