A/HRC/34/40 E. Situation of human rights defenders and activists 59. The Secretary-General remains concerned at the shrinking space for human rights defenders, who continue to face harassment, intimidation, arrest and prosecution for defending rights and speaking up against violations and abuse. A large number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were still detained at the end of 2016 and many others received prison sentences in 2016. In December, eight prisoners of conscience went on a life-threatening hunger strike to contest the legality of their detention. 60. In May, the High Commissioner publicly reacted to the prison sentence pronounced by the revolutionary court in Tehran against Narges Mohammadi and called on the Iranian authorities to release her. Ms. Mohammadi won the 2009 Alexander Langer award for her human rights activities, especially her efforts to end the death penalty for juvenile offenders. In 2016, she received the City of Paris medal for her peaceful activism. In October, 15 members of parliament addressed a letter to the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, calling on him to reverse the 10-year prison sentence imposed on Ms. Mohammadi.26 61. Ms. Ebrahimi Iraee and her husband, Mr. Sadeghi, also a human rights activist, were imprisoned in June and October 2016, starting prison sentences of 6 and 15 years, respectively. Both were arrested in September 2014 and, upon arrest, were reportedly held in isolation and denied access to lawyers. Mr. Sadeghi was reportedly subjected to torture. During their trials, they were denied legal representation and could not defend themselves. Mr. Sadeghi was sentenced on charges including “spreading propaganda against the system”, “assembly and colluding against national security” and “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic”, while Ms. Ebrahimi Iraee was condemned for “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “spreading propaganda against the system”. In December 2016, Mr. Sadeghi ended a 71-day hunger strike after his wife was released on bail. However, despite his critical medical condition he was reportedly denied specialized medical care outside prison. 62. In November, Ahmad Montazeri, a 60-year-old cleric, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a clerical court in the city of Qom on charges of acting against national security and releasing a classified audio file, and for propaganda against the system. In August, he had released an audio recording of a discussion dating back to 1988 in which his father, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, reportedly argued with leaders of the judiciary and condemned the execution of thousands of prisoners in 1988. The trial of Mr. Montazeri was reportedly held behind closed doors and he was prevented from choosing his own lawyer. The Secretary-General’s predecessor expressed deep concern over the imprisonment of Mr. Montazeri and the apparent lack of investigation into the revelations contained in the audio recording.27 63. At the end of 2016, Saeed Shirzad, a children’s rights activist, was still hospitalized after spending more than one month on hunger strike while serving a five-year prison sentence. Mr. Shirzad’s sentence was issued in 2015 by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court for assembly and collusion against national security in connection with his activities in support of the children of political prisoners pursuing their education. In December, he reportedly sewed his lips shut and began a hunger strike to protest against the treatment of political prisoners at Rajaee Shahr prison. Dozens of political detainees are reportedly being held in ward 12 of the prison without basic sanitation or proper nutrition and without the possibility of regularly contacting their families. At the time of writing the present report, Mr. Shirzad was in a serious medical condition and there was no indication that the judiciary was ready to discuss his demands. 64. Several labour rights activists faced criminal prosecution in 2016, including Najbeh Salehzadeh from Saqqez city, who was reportedly charged in June with sacrilege and 26 27 See www.isna.ir/news/95072514536. During the last months of 2016, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights received copies of 31 letters addressed to the High Commissioner and to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The letters were complaints from families of persons killed in the mass executions which reportedly took place in 1988. 11