TEHRAN, 11 August 2005 — Dissident Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji is still on hunger strike, a hospital official was quoted as saying yesterday, contradicting an official from the conservative judiciary who said he was eating again.

Judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad said on Tuesday Ganji had ended his eight-week hunger strike after calls from his family and friends, who were concerned that he could die.

But Sirus Tabesh, head of public relations at Tehran’s Milad hospital, said this was incorrect. “Ganji is not consuming any food,” he told the Sharq daily newspaper. “Ganji’s condition would become critical if his situation goes on as it is now.”

The 46-year-old former Revolutionary Guard turned reformist was imprisoned in 2001 after writing a string of stories linking officials to the murder of political dissidents. He began his hunger strike in June to pressure the judiciary to grant him an unconditional release. He was moved to Tehran’s Milad hospital and is kept under guard. Last month his health seriously deteriorated.

Sharq newspaper also quoted Shahaboddin Sadr, the head of Iran’s coroner’s office, saying Ganji’s health was now stable. Ganji’s plight has provoked comments of outrage and concern from the United States, the European Union and numerous human rights groups.

A relative said Ganji’s family was not immediately able to confirm whether he had broken his hunger strike or not as they had been denied access to him since Aug 1. Ganji’s wife was quoted by the ISNA students news agency saying her husband receives serums whenever his condition becomes critical. She said he was being given intravenous drips but on Friday developed a blood clot in his left arm. Ganji, was still on hunger strike, his wife told AFP.

“I strongly deny reports saying that Ganji has ended the hunger strike,” his wife, Massoumeh Shaffie, said. “If he had broken his hunger strike, they would have let me visit him to publicly announce this,” she added, lamenting the fact that she has not been allowed to see her husband for the last nine days. “Whenever his condition worsens, they re-attach the nourishing drip by force, but he seriously refuses to accept food stuff.”

Shaffie said that she was about to send an open letter to the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, asking for him to become involved.