Prosecutor of Dezful: Ismail Bakhshi Arrested by Court Order

The public and revolutionary prosecutor of Dezful denied reports of armed forces attacking the home of Ismail Bakhshi, a board member of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate, stating that he had been 'fleeing.' The Haft Tappeh Workers' Syndicate announced on Sunday night that 'a large number of armed forces accompanied by 15 patrol cars stormed Ismail Bakhshi's house and arrested him. The identity of the armed individuals remains unknown at the time of this report.' Iranian state television recently aired 'confessions' from Mr. Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian, a labor activist, which faced widespread backlash. Bakhshi's arrest was confirmed by Iranian media hours after the news of Gholian's arrest was published. Mansour Mohammadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Dezful, told the official news agency of the judiciary (Mizan) that Bakhshi's arrest was 'executed by judicial delegation from the Shush prosecutor's office and an arrest warrant was issued in the Dezful prosecutor's office.' Mohammadi stated that Bakhshi 'had been fleeing since the morning of the previous day' and added that he was 'arrested last night in Dezful with the cooperation of security and law enforcement forces after effective operational measures.' This judicial official also denied the published news about armed forces storming Ismail Bakhshi's home. The official news agency of the Iranian judiciary identified Bakhshi as 'one of the main leaders of the Haft Tappeh protests' who had 'connections with some elements of leftist organizations with a communist background active inside and outside the country.' Mizan claimed without details that 'the main hub directing the Haft Tappeh protests is located in Sweden and is inclined towards chaos.' Ismail Bakhshi was arrested in late November of this year and remained in custody until late December. In his first statements after his release, he stated that in the early days of his detention, he was subjected to 'torture and beatings to the point of death' without reason or explanation. Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist who was arrested alongside Bakhshi and several other Haft Tappeh workers during labor protests, also provided accounts of torture inflicted on her and Ismail Bakhshi. Following this, Iranian state television aired a documentary titled 'Burnt Design,' which included interrogation documents of several detained protesters from the labor protests in Ahvaz and the 'confessions' of Sepideh Gholian and Ismail Bakhshi regarding the protests of Haft Tappeh workers. This 'documentary' labeled the activities of Ismail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian, whose torture claims were denied by judicial and state authorities, as part of a 'foreign conspiracy.' Meanwhile, on Sunday, news emerged of the re-arrest of Ms. Gholian and her brother on charges of 'assaulting a female judicial officer.' After the airing of the 'confessions' on television, Gholian tweeted that the aired 'confessions' were 'further evidence supporting my claims of being tortured during my detention.' Khodarahm Gholian, Sepideh Gholian's father, told Radio Farda that 'during the time {Sepideh} was imprisoned, they had ruined her to the point that she had lost significant weight due to torture. In the 'Burnt Design' program aired on television, the left side of her body was injured and bruised.' Mr. Gholian added, 'At the time of her release, they told Sepideh that if she spoke, they would turn her to ashes,' and 'a letter was also written for forensic medicine that was placed in her file, but she was not taken to forensic medicine.' Meanwhile, Farzaneh Zilabi, Bakhshi's lawyer, reacted to the airing of 'Burnt Design,' describing it as 'manipulating public opinion' and 'treason against the people and the audience' of state television, stating that this action constitutes a 'crime.'