Ismail Gerami, Labor Activist and Retired Worker, Arrested

Ismail Gerami, a labor and pensioners' activist, was arrested and transferred to prison after he reported to the Evin Prosecutor's Office following a summons on Sunday, August 21. Labor news sources, including the 'Iran Pensioners Council,' reported that judicial agents had asked Gerami to visit the prosecutor's office based on a summons dated June 30, after entering his home on August 7. According to reports, 'after a follow-up call, he visited the [Evin] prosecutor's office at seven o'clock today (Sunday) and was then referred to the investigation department of branch 3 without any summons indicating that he was a suspect.' The report states that 'based on the decision of the investigator and the judicial officer, a detention order' was issued for Mr. Gerami, and he was 'transferred to Evin prison.' Last month, the Criminal Court 2 of the Qods Judicial Complex in Tehran charged Ismail Gerami, a labor activist, with 'disruption of public order and tranquility through holding illegal gatherings under the name of gatherings of pensioners of the Social Security Organization.' Previously, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of District 33 in Tehran had informed this retired worker of the charge of 'disruption of public order through participating in illegal gatherings' in mid-April, but he was later released on a bail of 500 million tomans. Ismail Gerami, a labor rights activist, has a history of arrest and imprisonment due to his union activities in recent years. In recent months, he has repeatedly criticized the policies of the Islamic Republic regarding workers and pensioners in notes published on the Telegram channels of union organizations. In one note, he stated that officials say pensioners should go home and 'hug their knees in sorrow,' 'pray and curse,' and 'cry bitterly for their poverty and misery,' saying, 'We will go to the streets until we get our rights. Victory is ours.' The slogan 'Our rights can only be obtained in the streets' has been repeatedly chanted during recent protests by pensioners. On May 7, in a note titled 'So, what should we pensioners do now?' he wrote: 'As far as we know you, you answer us to go home and hug our knees in sorrow, pray and curse, and cry for our poverty and misery and erase Article 96 of Social Security from our minds. But no!! We will go our own way, the way we have experienced and learned from. We will go to the streets until we get our rights, victory is ours.' Typically, the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic condemns labor activists, teachers, and pensioners to prison and other punishments by bringing such charges against them. These actions have faced widespread criticism from labor unions and organizations around the world.