Paris - (AFP) - The health condition of a prominent Iranian dissident who was arrested in September as protests began in the country is "deteriorating" after he began a hunger strike, his brother announced Sunday.

Hussein Ronaghi, a prominent activist in defense of freedom of expression, was transferred to a medical facility inside Evin prison, according to a tweet released by his brother Hassan.

Ronagi has been detained in Evin Prison since his arrest on 24 September. His family says that he is at risk of death due to health problems, especially in the kidneys, and confirms that he has two broken legs.

Ronagi is on hunger strike and decided to stop drinking water on Saturday to protest the authorities' refusal to allow him to leave prison for treatment, according to what his brother had previously announced.

"Hussein's condition worsened and he was transferred to a clinic in Evin Prison," Hassan Ronaghi tweeted on Sunday.

Hassan Ronaghi accused the Public Prosecution of preventing the transfer of his brother "under false pretexts" and of seeking to "kill Hussein".

The famous Iranian directors, Jaafar Panahi and Muhammad Rasoulof, who are detained with Ronaghi in Evin Prison, expressed concern for his life, warning that he might suffer a heart attack at any time.

"According to the prison doctors, the risk of a heart attack is very high," said a letter to them, published by the IranWire news website.
They pointed to the "risks of repeating the tragic" death of a political prisoner in detention.

Ronaghi is one of dozens of human rights activists, journalists and lawyers who were arrested during the crackdown on protests that erupted over the death of young woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the "morality police" for not adhering to the strict dress code imposed by the Islamic Republic on women.

Ronaghi, 37, is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and is based in Iran, where he has been fiercely opposed to the Islamic Republic for years.

He was giving an interview to London-based Iran International on September 22 when security men came to his house, the channel reported.

The channel indicated that the activist managed to sneak out of the building in which he lived through the parking lot, and later published a video message from an undisclosed location.

But he was later arrested and beaten by security agents when he went to Evin prison in Tehran to meet the public prosecutor on September 24, according to his brother.