Jailed Iran activist escalates hunger strike

PARIS: A jailed Iranian freedom of speech campaigner who is on a hunger strike and “in critical condition” will start refusing water after being denied medical leave, his brother said on Saturday.

Hossein Ronaghi, 37, was arrested days after speaking out against a bloody crackdown on protests that erupted across Iran in September over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

“Hossein said in a call from prison that he´s recently had seizures several times,” his brother Hassan wrote on Twitter.

“Today Hossein´s (blood) pressure dropped severely and he lost consciousness,” he said.

Ronaghi has been denied medical leave “despite the fact that he... is in critical condition”, his brother added. “Hossein said he would begin refusing water from tonight.”