Tehran Bus Workers' Syndicate Calls for Unconditional Release of Labor and Civil Activists

The Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers' Syndicate on Thursday, January 20, called for the unconditional release of all imprisoned labor, teacher, student, and civil activists in Iran. This labor organization specifically demanded the immediate release of two of its imprisoned members, Ebrahim Madadi and Davood Razavi, as well as imprisoned labor activists and supporters of the syndicate, Reyhaneh Ansari-Nejad and Anisha Asadollahi. According to the syndicate's statement, Ebrahim Madadi, the vice president of the board of directors of the syndicate, has been imprisoned in Ward 8 of Evin Prison since August 21 of this year to serve a one-year unjust sentence related to 2015. It was also noted that Mr. Madadi had previously been imprisoned for 3 years and 6 months and another time for about 4 months. He has experienced both short-term and long-term detentions multiple times, and prior to his forced retirement, he was dismissed from work for years and incurred heavy costs. The statement mentioned that Ebrahim Madadi, at approximately 70 years old and suffering from multiple illnesses, is in very poor physical condition. The Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers' Syndicate wrote about Davood Razavi, a board member who has been active since 2004, stating that he was arrested on October 5, 2022, and unjustly sentenced to 5 years in prison, and is currently held in Ward 4 of Evin Prison. The statement indicated that Mr. Razavi has also been arrested multiple times before and was once sentenced to 5 years of suspended imprisonment. This labor organization added that Davood Razavi suffers from multiple illnesses, and the continuation of his imprisonment has exacerbated these conditions. Nevertheless, he has not been granted even a single day of leave. The syndicate referred to Reyhaneh Ansari-Nejad, a labor activist and supporter of the syndicate, stating that she was arrested on May 11, 2022, and unjustly sentenced to 4 years in prison, and is currently held in the women's ward of Evin Prison. The labor organization added that Reyhaneh, who has a history of previous arrests, has always been responsible for her only daughter and is now facing difficult conditions. In this regard, she has been deprived of even in-person visits with her daughter in recent months. The Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers' Syndicate referred to Anisha Asadollahi, a teacher, translator for the syndicate, and supporter of the working class, stating that she was arrested on May 8, 2022, and unjustly sentenced to 3 years and 7 months in prison by the Supreme Court. According to the statement, she is also held in the women's ward of Evin Prison. The syndicate added that Anisha had previously been arrested on occasions such as International Workers' Day in 2019. This labor organization emphasized that the continued imprisonment of syndicate members and the detention of workers and labor activists lacks any legal or humanitarian justification and demanded that all imprisoned labor activists be immediately released and that false charges and harassment be stopped. In recent years, coinciding with the expansion of labor and occupational protests in Iran, security confrontations with workers, teachers, retirees, and students have intensified. These confrontations have faced protests from labor and occupational syndicates and unions worldwide.