Continued Hostility of Judicial Officials Towards Labor Activists; After Reza Shahabi, Leave for Hassan Saidi Also Denied

Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic, after rejecting the temporary release of Reza Shahabi, a imprisoned member of the Syndicate of Workers of the Bus Company, on Friday, also prevented the release of Hassan Saidi, another member of this syndicate, on Sunday. The Syndicate of Workers of the Bus Company wrote on its Telegram channel on Sunday, April 1, that judicial officials, at the behest of interrogators from the Ministry of Intelligence, opposed Hassan Saidi's leave, despite having previously denied his emergency leave due to his child's serious accident. In protest against this decision, the syndicate stated: 'We have repeatedly protested against the harassment and continued unjust imprisonment of our imprisoned members and are pursuing international protests through the International Transport Workers' Federation and other global labor organizations; in addition, our formal complaint has been registered with the International Labor Organization and with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and we will not spare any possible effort until the release of our imprisoned members.' Hassan Saidi, a long-time member of the Syndicate of Workers of the Bus Company, has been dismissed at least four times by the Bus Company under pressure from security forces and has been beaten and arrested several times. He was arrested during the Labor Day protest in 2019 in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and sentenced to five years in prison. This imprisoned worker was arrested again on May 17, 2022, and after enduring months of solitary confinement and lengthy interrogations, was tried in absentia in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court and faced a six-year prison sentence and two years of exile. The opposition to Hassan Saidi's leave and conditional release comes while he has served more than a third of his prison term and is entitled to temporary release under the law. The rejection of Reza Shahabi's second leave request, despite his serious need for surgery, has drawn criticism from French labor unions, which stated that Reza Shahabi, Davood Razavi, and Hassan Saidi should be released. Education International and the International Confederation of Trade Unions also called for the Iranian government to release labor activists. The Syndicate of Workers of the Bus Company criticized the security officials' opposition to Reza Shahabi's medical leave. Nahid Khodajoo, a labor activist, was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison. Evin officials prevented Davood Razavi from being sent to the hospital 'on the pretext of not wearing prison clothes.' The Syndicate of Workers of the Bus Company in Tehran warned that the health conditions of three of its imprisoned members are critical.