Mehdi and Hossein Rajabian, two imprisoned Iranian artists, began a hunger strike on September 7 to protest prison conditions. Authorities imprisoned the brothers in June for distributing music free from state censors. The warden relocated Mehdi and Hossein to be punished separately after an argument with prison guards on Wednesday.

This is not the first time the brothers have been separated as punishment. They were placed in solitary confinement from October to December 2015. During this time the brothers reported torture by beating and electric shock.

Mehdi and Hossein reported that their torture was in an attempt to force televised confessions for the charges of “insulting the sacred” and “propaganda against the state.”

The last photo of  Hossein (left) and Mehdi Rajabian before their imprisonment. Mehdi is pictured with a setar, a Persian folk instrument (Facebook).

Little is known about the argument between the brothers and the prison overseer.

An anonymous source commented on the cause of the strike: “Last night, Mehdi was forcibly transferred to Ward 8 and Hossein is still in Ward 7 of Evin prison. The two brothers staged a hunger strike in protest and demanded that they be together.”

At the time of his arrest, Mehdi had just completed his album History of Iran Narrated by Setar. Additionally, Hossein had just completed and released his film The Upside-Down Triangle.

From left to right, imprisoned Iranian artists Youssef Emadi, Hossein Rajabian, and Mehdi Rajabian.

International organizations have campaigned for the artists’ release. The Voice Project’s Imprisoned For Art Campaign has linked activists to the Iranian government calling for their freedom.

Likewise, The United Nations condemned the arrests.

Activism has seen recent successes in Iran. The Rajabian brothers’ sentences were reduced from six years to three in a February appeal. Additionally, cartoonists Atena Farghadani and Hadi Heidari were released from Evin Prison earlier this year.

Cases such as these prove that, while precedent is growing, the fight for human rights in Iran is far from over.

The Voice Project will continue to update this story as it develops. You can add your voice to free Mehdi, Hossein, and Youssef here.