Evin Officials Prevent Davood Razavi's Transfer to Hospital 'Under the Pretext of Not Wearing Prison Clothes'

Officials at Evin Prison prevented the transfer of Davood Razavi, a jailed labor activist, to the hospital on the grounds of not wearing prison clothes. According to the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Mr. Razavi, a board member of the Syndicate, has been deprived of medical examinations at Farabi Hospital in Tehran due to the authorities' 'pretext' for transferring him in prison attire. This labor organization announced on February 6 that Davood Razavi, a 63-year-old labor activist, has been denied continued treatment and any medical leave despite suffering from gastrointestinal diseases and issues with his eyes and knees. On February 15, the syndicate warned about the deterioration of Razavi's gastrointestinal condition in prison, emphasizing that any consequences resulting from medical negligence regarding his situation would fall on the prison officials and the judiciary. Davood Razavi was sentenced to five years in prison and additional restrictions after meeting with French union activists Cecile Couleau and Jacques Paris in October 2022, accused of 'collusion against national security.' The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company has described the 'unjust and long-term imprisonments' of Razavi, Reza Shahabi, and Hassan Saidi, three veteran labor activists, as stemming from their insistence on defending workers' rights. The arrests of these three labor activists and several others last year due to their meeting with Couleau and Paris have led to widespread criticism from labor and teachers' organizations in Iran, as well as from labor unions and teachers' associations worldwide. Currently, Cecile Couleau and Jacques Paris, along with labor activist Keyvan Mohtadi, teachers' rights activist Rasoul Badaghi, and labor activist Reyhaneh Ansarinezad, are serving their sentences. Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in February 1979, the Islamic Republic has confronted independent labor and professional organizations in Iran, drawing significant criticism, especially from unions and syndicates in various countries around the world.