Shahrokh Zamani, Labor Activist, Dies in Rajaei Shahr Prison

Reports indicate that Shahrokh Zamani, a labor rights activist, died on Sunday, September 22, 'due to a stroke' in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj. Taghi Mahmoudi, who took on Shahrokh Zamani's legal representation abroad, informed Radio Farda that he learned of his client's death in prison through one of his fellow inmates. Websites Kalemeh and HRANA (the organ of human rights activists in Iran) described the death of this labor activist and painter as 'sudden.' According to HRANA, citing an 'informed source,' on Sunday, after Shahrokh Zamani failed to appear for his afternoon break, his cellmates discovered he had passed away upon checking his bed. The initial diagnosis by the prison's medical staff regarding the cause of death was a stroke. Mr. Zamani had spent the years 2012 and 2013 in various prisons including Yazd, Tabriz, Rajaei Shahr in Karaj, and again in Tabriz, Qezel Hesar in Karaj, and finally returned to Rajaei Shahr Prison in 2014. Shahrokh Zamani had previously been imprisoned for 18 months in 1993 for non-public activities related to the painters' union. According to these reports, Shahrokh Zamani was serving his fifth year of imprisonment 'without leave' and during this time, he was not even allowed to attend his daughter's wedding or his mother's funeral. He was last arrested in June 2011 in Tabriz, held in solitary confinement for 36 days, and then sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz for 'propaganda against the regime, attempting to establish a union of painter workers, and forming a group with the intent to disrupt national security.' Reports indicate that Mr. Zamani spent several periods during his imprisonment in Tabriz in the sections for non-political prisoners and had gone on hunger strikes multiple times. According to Kalemeh, this labor activist, in a letter addressed to 'unions, human rights organizations, freedom-loving individuals, and Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran,' spoke of 'threats, intimidation, and illegal behavior' against him and 'physical and psychological torture' during his detention and interrogations. Previously, in April of last year, Amnesty International had issued a statement calling for his immediate and unconditional release.