Continued Criticism of Death Sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi: The Goal is to Suppress Labor, Civil, and Political Activists

The death sentence issued for Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist, by the Revolutionary Court of Rasht has sparked severe criticism from several labor and professional organizations in Iran. They stated that such a ruling "lacks the slightest human and legal legitimacy" and labeled it as an "inhumane sentence aimed at suppressing labor, civil, and political activists." The "Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi" announced on Thursday, July 14, that Sharifeh Mohammadi, a imprisoned labor activist in Lakan Prison in Rasht, was sentenced to death in a "medieval and criminal ruling" by the Revolutionary Court of this city. The campaign emphasized that the issuance of the death sentence against Ms. Mohammadi is "a declaration of war and a death sentence against all social and civil activists," calling for the annulment of this sentence and her unconditional release. The court session for Sharifeh Mohammadi took place on June 9 in the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht. The Telegram channel of the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations reported on Thursday that her husband, Sirous Fathi, informed her of the death sentence, and she "reacted firmly and steadfastly to this horrifying news." In this context, the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company stated on Thursday, July 15, in a statement that Sharifeh Mohammadi was "sentenced to death without a transparent and legal process." This labor organization criticized the ruling from the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht, which was issued based on "baseless and unfounded accusations of rebellion," adding that this ruling was issued "under the pretext of Ms. Sharifeh Mohammadi's membership in a decade ago in the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations, which has been an independent and public labor organization." The Syndicate emphasized that the "oppressive ruling" against Ms. Mohammadi "lacks the slightest human and legal legitimacy and must be annulled immediately." The syndicate noted that it has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the issuance of medieval death sentences and added: "The scenario against labor and civil activists by security agents and the complete dependency of judges and the judiciary on security institutions has long surpassed any limits and principles of humanity, and the government must be held accountable for these barbaric death sentences." This labor organization, a member of the International Transport Workers' Federation, called on "all workers and independent labor and civil organizations and human rights defenders in Iran and the world" to "strongly condemn the oppressive death sentence against labor and civil activist Sharifeh Mohammadi and demand the immediate annulment of this sentence and her unconditional release, along with other labor and civil activists." The Council of Coordination of Cultural Workers' Organizations in Iran also stated in a statement that Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death "after months of unjust imprisonment and various forms of torture and case fabrication in the absence of a fair trial," describing it as "an inhumane sentence aimed at suppressing labor, civil, and political activists." This national teachers' organization in Iran characterized the accusations of rebellion and corruption on earth as "baseless accusations" used by the judiciary to instill fear and terror. The statement noted that in recent months, at least 15 political prisoners, including Nasim Gholami-Simiari, Hamidreza Sahlabadi, Ehsan Ravazgian, Amin Sokhanvar, Ali Herati-Mokhtari, Hossein Mohammadi, Hossein Ardestani, Amir Shah-Valayati, Vahid Bani-Amirian, Pouya Ghobadi, Mohammad Taghavi, Mojtaba Taghavi, Babak Alipour, Abolhasan Montazeri, and Asghar Daneshfar, have faced charges of rebellion and are at risk of a death sentence like Sharifeh Mohammadi. The Council condemned the attribution of rebellion charges and the issuance of death sentences for activists, particularly Ms. Mohammadi, emphasizing: "The death sentence is an inhumane and irreversible ruling, and the issuance of such rulings must be halted." Shiva Mahboubi, spokesperson for the Committee to Fight for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, also wrote on the social network "X": "Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death for defending the rights of workers and people." Meanwhile, social media users have criticized the issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi. Parvin Ardalan, a journalist, researcher, and women's movement activist, wrote regarding this: "Issuing the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi in this corrupt and hypocritical election market of the government!" Reactions Outside Iran The issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi has also elicited reactions from outside Iran. The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran stated that the issuance of this sentence "not only contradicts the most basic human rights standards but also violates the penal laws of the Islamic Republic and is baseless." The Iran Human Rights Campaign pointed out that since the beginning of the current solar year, at least six other labor activists have been summoned by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic or tried in Revolutionary Courts on fabricated and baseless charges. In this context, it noted that on July 2, the Revolutionary Court sentenced labor activists Mohammad Iran-Nejad, Nasrollah Amirloo, and Morteza Seyedi to two years in prison. The Iran Human Rights Campaign stated: "The issuance of this sentence not only contradicts the most basic human rights standards but also violates the penal laws of the Islamic Republic and is baseless." Currently, a large number of labor activists and teachers are imprisoned on security charges. In this context, Alejandra Ortega Fuentes, responsible for Arab, African, Asian countries, and the International Labor Organization in the Spanish Confederation of Labor Unions (Workers' Commissions), called for the immediate annulment of the oppressive death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi. Previously, "Femena" strongly condemned the heavy and shocking sentence against Ms. Mohammadi and demanded her unconditional release. In a statement published on the social network "X," "Femena" emphasized that the aim of issuing such a ruling is to create fear and weaken activism in Iran. This group also stated that "defending workers' rights is not a crime and should not lead to imprisonment." "Femena" announced on its website that it supports women human rights defenders, their groups and organizations, and feminist movements in the Middle East and Asian countries. The website stated that "Femena" focuses on countries where the civil society space is shrinking or closing, and also on countries affected by war and extremism. Komala: Sharifeh Mohammadi has never had any relationship with our organization at any point in her life or work The Central Committee of Komala (Kurdistan Communist Party of Iran) described the issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi as a "criminal ruling" and stated that she "has never had any relationship with the Komala organization at any point in her life, work, and activism." This party accused the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of "fabricating a security case" against Sharifeh Mohammadi and the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations, emphasizing that it "categorically denies these claims and states that the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations has no organizational relationship or dependency on Komala and the Communist Party of Iran." Komala described this "criminal ruling" against Sharifeh Mohammadi as "a political ruling" that "targets all activists in the labor movement, especially those who have been active for a period in the Coordination Committee for the Establishment of Labor Organizations." According to this statement, "The criminal regime of the Islamic Republic aims to intimidate all labor activists and terrorize society by issuing a death sentence against Sharifeh Mohammadi." The statement reads: "The issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi continues the assault on the empty tables of workers, continues the assault on unveiled women amid the nauseating propaganda and electoral competition of the government and the regime's repeated failures in recent months, and the issuance of the death sentence for Sharifeh Mohammadi does not compensate for their comprehensive failures and cannot guarantee the survival of this criminal regime." The Iran Human Rights Organization: At least 249 people have been executed in the past six months. The end of Ahmadreza Jalali's hunger strike in prison; he wants his voice to be heard. A one-year prison sentence for Matoureh Ghonei; charge: protesting the death sentence of Tomaj Salehi. Rina, the sister of the political prisoner sentenced to death, was arrested. Mahmoud Mehrabi, a protester sentenced to death: The change of the president of the Islamic Republic does not affect the government's repressive policies. Political prisoners in Tabriz prison have also joined the "No to Death Sentences on Tuesdays" campaign.