Intelligence Agency in Sanandaj Pressures Sharifeh Mohammadi for 'Forced Confession'

The Telegram channel of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations reported on Saturday, January 13, that interrogators from the Sanandaj Intelligence Office have pressured Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist, to obtain a forced confession. According to the report, Ms. Mohammadi, who was previously transferred from Lakan Prison in Rasht to Sanandaj Prison, has also been subjected to physical abuse by the interrogators. The council's Telegram channel stated that prisoners in Sanandaj Central Prison witnessed bruising under her eyes, redness, and severe inflammation of her eyes and face upon her return from interrogation on January 10. Sharifeh Mohammadi was arrested on December 5 while heading to her workplace in Rasht and was transferred to Sanandaj Prison on January 1. During this time, she has only contacted her family twice. Additionally, a labor organization reported that she is being held 'indefinitely' in Sanandaj Central Prison. The Coordinating Committee to Help Establish Labor Organizations wrote on January 21 that she has been denied visits with her family. According to the report, the investigator in Ms. Mohammadi's case has refused to allow this political prisoner to meet with her child and family, and has not provided any information regarding the status of her case or the extension of her one-month detention. This labor organization emphasized that 'the burnt scenario of forced confessions of prisoners is a heinous, inhumane, and medieval act,' adding that 'pressure on Sharifeh Mohammadi for a forced confession is the highest form of torture.' The Coordinating Committee condemned any physical abuse and psychological pressure against Ms. Mohammadi and called for her immediate, swift, and unconditional release. In recent years, alongside protests by workers, teachers, retirees, and other wage earners, security and judicial crackdowns on them and labor and trade activists have intensified. In this context, several of these activists have faced several hours of detention on security charges, including Reza Shahabi, Reyhaneh Ansari Nejad, Davood Razavi, Keyvan Mohtadi, Hassan Saidi, and Rasoul Badaghi. The crackdown on workers, teachers, and retirees has drawn widespread criticism from labor and trade organizations worldwide.