Support from 34 Student Organizations for Ismail Bakhti's Request for a Debate with the Minister of Intelligence

Ismail Bakhti, a representative of the workers of Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, who claims to have been tortured during his detention, has called for a live televised debate with the Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic. Thirty-four student organizations have supported this request and expressed readiness to hold the debate. Bakhti was arrested during the protests of November regarding the Haft Tappeh workers on November 27 and spent nearly a month in the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence. He wrote on Instagram, "For 72 hours, I couldn't move in my cell, and I was beaten so much that even the pain of sleeping was unbearable for me." He, along with Sepideh Qolian, who was arrested with him, has demanded public accountability from the Minister of Intelligence in a televised debate. According to Bakhti, agents of the Ministry of Intelligence "beat them" and subjected them to "various types of vulgar sexual insults," and his family was also "under surveillance." Meanwhile, it has been reported that 34 student organizations, including Islamic associations from many universities in large and small cities across the country, have sent an open letter to Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, requesting a televised debate with Ismail Bakhti to clarify the issues raised by this labor activist. The signatory organizations include student associations from various medical universities and other institutions across Iran. However, the Governor of Khuzestan has denied the allegations of torture, citing "relevant authorities" and stated that this institution is ready to investigate the matter. Gholamreza Shariati, in an interview with the Jamaran website, said: "I inquired about the torture issue from the relevant authorities today, and they strongly denied such an issue, stating that they have documents and evidence that no torture occurred." He added that any of the detained workers, after their release, can refer to the judiciary if they have any claims. The Governor also mentioned that the political and social deputy of the governorate is ready to "listen to the statements and investigate, and if it reaches cases where the law has not been followed or injustice has been done to someone, they will pursue it with the relevant authorities." Since the 1979 Revolution, political activists have repeatedly reported organized and prolonged torture during their detention, and some prisoners have died as a result of torture, with recent examples including Sattar Beheshti. The Kahrizak detention center is among those mentioned in reports to the Iranian parliament regarding the torture of prisoners there.