Reza Aghdasi, Labor Activist, Tried in Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court

Reza Aghdasi, a dismissed worker from Iran Khodro and a deaf labor activist, was tried on Tuesday, November 1, in Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court. According to the Free Union of Iranian Workers, Mr. Aghdasi was charged without a lawyer with 'conspiracy and collusion aimed at acting against national security, propaganda against the regime, participation in illegal labor gatherings, and membership in opposition groups and factions.' Typically, the Islamic Republic government condemns political, labor, professional, and civil activists to prison on security charges in security and judicial confrontations. Also see: Osman Esmaeili, a labor activist, sentenced to 16 months in prison. According to this report, Reza Aghdasi was arrested on October 24 after being summoned to the third branch of Evin Court and transferred to quarantine in Evin Prison. After the trial, he was moved to Ward 4 of Evin Prison. Mr. Aghdasi had also been summoned to Evin Court on October 15 and was arrested along with his wife by security forces during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in the fall of 2022. In recent months, security and judicial confrontations with labor activists and teachers have intensified, leading to severe criticism from labor and teacher unions worldwide. These unions emphasize the necessity of free activity for organizations in Iran, free from any repression. The indifference of the prison organization to the treatment of imprisoned labor and professional activists has led European labor unions to demand the release of three imprisoned labor and civil activists.