Iranian activists arrested on August 10 in front of a courthouse in the city of Mashhad in northeast Iran have gone on hunger strike, one family member told Radio Farda.

The sister of Huriyeh Farajzadeh Tarani, who lives in Canada, in an interview on August 17 said that her sister and other nine detainees have begun a hunger strike.

The activists had gathered at the courthouse to protest a 13-year jail term for an associate when they were also arrested.

Kamal Jafari Yazdi who received the long prison sentence a few months ago,also signed a letter recently with thirteen other male activists asking for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a new constitution. This was followed by a similar letter signed by fourteen women.

Some of those arrested in Mashhad and others in Tehran were among the signatories of the two letters.

According to Tarani’s sister Houriyeh, the detainees are being interrogated by the Intelligence Ministry and they have not been allowed to meet any family members or speak with a lawyer.

Iran’s Fars news agency linked with the notorious Revolutionary Guards has blamed the detainees for “creating insecurity” and having links with “groups who want a regime change”.

Houriyeh Tarani says that her sister and others had peacefully gathered outside the courthouse and in no way posed any danger to public order.

She expressed deep concern about the well-being of her sister and the other detainees.