Prosecutor's Office: Reza Shahabi Must Remain in Prison for Another 17 Months

The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company announced that the prosecutor's office has informed Reza Shahabi's wife that this labor activist must remain in prison for another 17 months. In a statement, the labor organization wrote that according to the prosecutor's office, Mr. Shahabi must be in prison until January 7 of next year. This news has not yet been denied by officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to the report, a member of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company has been sentenced to another year in prison in a new case that this labor organization termed "fabrication of a case." Additionally, the prosecutor's office has considered five months of the time that Reza Shahabi was on medical leave, confirmed by forensic medicine, as "absence." The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company pointed out in its statement that "the prosecutor's claim of five months of absence from Shahabi's six-year prison sentence" comes while he has seen "a letter of freedom and completion of his six-year sentence dated September 9, 2015, in his prison file" after returning to prison. Following pressures from the prosecutor's office to return Reza Shahabi, a board member of this organization, to prison, he reported to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on August 9. Reports indicate that judicial officials have repeatedly pressured this labor activist to return to prison over the past year. In this context, Amnesty International announced in a statement on April 29 that "Reza Shahabi, who has been on medical leave since October 2014 after serving four years in prison, has recently been summoned back to prison." The International Confederation of Trade Unions also stated in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, that Mr. Shahabi's return to prison constitutes a "violation of international laws and human rights" and called for an "end to his harassment." Mehdi Kouhestani Nejad, an advisor to the International Confederation of Trade Unions and a member of the Canadian Labour Congress, noted that "taking bail from labor activists at the time of arrest is one of the tools to silence workers" and told Radio Farda: "This hostage-taking and extortion from workers if they continue their activities is one of the most heinous tools that has continued for years to return to prison or seize bail." He added that international labor unions will not remain silent regarding the treatment of workers and labor activists, stating: "Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be held accountable for this behavior." Mr. Shahabi was arrested by security agents on June 12, 2010, and after 19 months in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, he was sentenced by the Islamic Revolutionary Court to six years in prison, five years of deprivation from union activities, and a fine of 7.5 million tomans. According to the Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, "Reza Shahabi suffered serious injuries to his neck and back due to the violence of security forces during his arrest and also due to long and exhausting interrogations." This labor organization pointed out the judicial authorities' opposition to Mr. Shahabi's treatment and his three hunger strikes, adding: "This union member was transferred to the hospital due to his deteriorating health from the hunger strike and underwent surgery on his neck and back in two stages and was granted medical leave confirmed by forensic medicine, stating that treatment and recovery should take place outside of prison." The Syndicate of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company condemned the "continuation of pressure on the union and the imprisonment of" Reza Shahabi, calling for his immediate release and the annulment of sentences issued against him and other board members of the union; Ibrahim Madadi and Davood Razavi, and other imprisoned workers and labor activists. Mr. Madadi has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison on charges of "gathering and colluding with the intent to act against national security" and "disrupting public order through participation in illegal gatherings." Mr. Razavi is also facing similar charges, and the Tehran Revolutionary Court has sentenced him to five years in prison. Currently, several labor and professional activists such as Ismail Abdi and Mohsen Omrani are imprisoned on security charges. Security and judicial actions against workers and labor activists in Iran continue while the Islamic Republic of Iran has expressed its agreement with the International Labor Organization's conventions regarding workers' freedom of association.