An Iranian civil rights activist and former college student is in critical condition after going on a hunger strike for over two months. Human rights groups have been urging authorities to do something, but to no avail. Arash Sadeghi stopped eating four months into his own prison sentence to protest the arrest of his wife, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, who was imprisoned because of an unpublished novel she wrote. Sadeghi is serving a 15-year sentence on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” “spreading lies in cyberspace,” and “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic.”

Sadeghi has said that he was arrested because he supported a group of poor students who had been denied access to education. He also supported left-leaning students, the families of people who had been killed, and peaceful protests against executions and wrongful imprisonments.

His wife was working on a fictional novel about stoning in Iran, which is a common form of capital punishment in the country. But officials didn’t even know about the book draft until they were ransacking the couples’ home while arresting them both for Sadeghi’s “crimes.”

Arash is a political prisoner. He is on his 68th day of hunger strike demanding his wife be released. #SaveArash pic.twitter.com/E2qbBZz2HO

— Bahman Kalbasi (@BahmanKalbasi) December 30, 2016

As the draft contained a description of burning a Quran, she got the maximum punishment even though it was only fiction and not yet published. In a conversation with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) in October, she said:

I was interrogated dozens of times about the burning of the Quran in my story. Each time I explained: it’s only a story. I told them and I wrote [in my defense statement] that if what I did was a crime, then many scriptwriters and novelists should be arrested for committing the same crime.

Arash Sadeghi Is In “Critical And Worrying” Condition After 64 Days On Hunger Strike In Tehran’s Evin Prison #SaveArash pic.twitter.com/vnKj3qonfM

— Nick Sotoudeh (@NickSotoudeh) December 26, 2016

As Sadeghi hasn’t eaten for over 68 days, his body started to break down a couple of weeks ago. He was taken to the prison clinic on Wednesday night for low blood pressure, heart palpitations, asthma, and was coughing up blood. But he has refused medical treatments ever since he was banned from visiting his wife. In the late stage of a hunger strike it is very likely to fall into a coma or even die. Famous IRA activist in Northern Ireland Bobby Sands died after 66 days of striking in 1981. A source speaking on the condition of anonymity to ICHRI in the beginning of December stated:

Arash has lost a lot of weight and he’s suffering from stomach and intestinal problems. His blood pressure has dropped severely and he has been constantly in and out of the prison clinic during the past week. He spat out blood and he can barely stand or speak. His health is in critical condition and worrying,

Recently the hashtag #SaveArash started trending on Twitter, and several human rights groups have pleaded with the Iranian government to step in.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Public defenders don’t always have the best reputation. TV shows sometimes portray them as being fresh out of law school, inexperienced, and not dedicated to their clients–essentially the type of person you don’t want defending you in any legal capacity. In reality, many are dedicated veterans of the courtroom, and Jami Tillotson is a prime example. In fact, the long-time public defender was arrested January 27, 2015 for sticking to her job–defending her client. The entire scene was caught on two cellphone videos recorded by other attorneys present.

In the videos, Tillotson is seen standing next to her client and another man outside of a San Francisco Hall of Justice restroom, refusing to let their pictures be unlawfully taken. While trying to protect her client’s right to counsel she was arrested for “resisting arrest” (if that’s even a thing) by a plainclothes police officer, Sergeant Inspector Brian Stansbury. There was no mention of any other charge for her to even resist being arrested for, but when cops threatened her with arrest, she calmly replied, “Please do.”

The day of the incident Tillotson was in a courtroom representing her client on an unrelated misdemeanor theft charge, when she heard he and another man were being questioned by a group of police in the hallway, even though her client obviously had representation. Police were instructing her client how to pose for a photo when she intervened. She was well within her rights to do so on behalf of her client’s Fifth Amendment rights. Police didn’t see it that way though. Of course, after she was taken away in handcuffs their photos were taken anyways.

If you haven’t seen the cellphone footage of her arrest yet, you can watch the injustice below.

Apparently this isn’t the first time Sergeant Stansbury has used force to get his way. He was part of a 2013 federal civil rights lawsuit by a black San Francisco PD officer alleging racial profiling. In that case, Officer Lorenzo Adamson was stopped for not having a license plate when Stansbury immediately asked him if he was on probation or parole (because if you’re black you must be on one or the other), leading Adamson to believe that he was being racially profiled. Adamson was then choked and thrown to the ground by another police officer all the while repeating, “I’m a cop!”

Since Tillotson’s arrest video was uploaded to YouTube, her case has gone viral. Many are hailing her as a hero against this type of police intimidation and bullying, as well as questioning the legitimacy of her arrest. Stansbury might have just misspoken, intending to say “obstruction of justice” instead of “resisting arrest.” Either way, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest are charges abused far too often by police as a means to get their way or exert an alpha mentality.

David L. Carter, a criminology professor and former police officer, told NPR that police sometimes feel they have to arrest someone in order to “save face.” He also said some unjustified arrests also stem from officer fatigue when dealing with challenging members of the public, especially in protest situations. While Carter offers up some plausible reasons, it’s not the intent behind the injustice that matters; it’s the fact that there was even any to begin with.

Tillotson spoke about the arrest in a press conference last week, saying:

I was arrested for what we do as public defenders every day. I asked questions. I talked to my client and explained to him his rights. At that point, I was told I was interfering and taken into custody.

Her willingness to be taken away in cuffs is striking–it wouldn’t be surprising if she filed a civil suit against Stansbury and the other officers involved. While the current status of Tillotson’s case is unclear, one thing is certain; she will continue to defend her clients by any means necessary.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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