Jailed Iran Dissident to Continue Hunger Srike

Agence France Press, Khaleej Times:

Jailed dissident Iranian write Akbar Ganji, who has been on a hunger strike for more than a month, intends to carry on until he is unconditionally freed from prison, his wife told Iran's student-run news agency Isna yesterday. "Ganji will keep up this hunger strike indefinitely. He is determined to be unconditionally freed," Massoumeh Shafiie said after visiting him on Thursday in prison.

She said Ganji was taken to the prison hospital Monday and doctors said he "needed one month of complete rest outside of prison" because of his back problems.

On Tuesday, prison doctors advised Ganji to take a "serum containing sugar and salt but he refused." When he returned to his cell, "he fainted and was transferred to the prison clinic where the serum was administered intravenously." "Since Ganji weighs no more than 54kg and his blood pressure has taken a dive, prison doctors decided to keep him in the clinic under round-the-clock surveillance," Shafiie said.