Tehran Bus Workers' Syndicate: Security Officials Prevent Surgery for Reza Shahabi

The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company announced that "security officials" are preventing the transfer of Reza Shahabi, a imprisoned board member of this organization, for "medical leave" to undergo "surgery." According to the syndicate's Telegram channel on Tuesday, August 3, Mr. Shahabi, who has been in Evin Prison for "over 14 months," is suffering from "problems with his neck and back vertebrae" and experiences "numbness in his left hand and fingers." Despite a "doctor's order," his surgery has been postponed since December 2022 due to deprivation of medical leave. The Syndicate described this process as "inhumane" and emphasized the necessity of ending this situation and transferring him to the hospital, demanding the "immediate and unconditional release" of Reza Shahabi and other labor and union prisoners, including Davood Razavi and Hassan Saidi. The report recalled that this board member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers' Syndicate had to undergo surgery on his neck and back due to "injuries from beatings" during his arrest in 2010 and also during his detention in Ward 209 of Evin Prison in 2012 and 2014. In his detention in May 2022, his illness worsened due to "prolonged confinement in Wards 209 and 241 without adequate facilities" and "long interrogations." According to the report, Reza Shahabi is even "forced to take painkillers" for a "short sleep," and prison officials have been "delaying treatment for this imprisoned worker" for months against the doctor's opinion for surgery. The report emphasized that officials told Reza Shahabi, "You perform the surgery. We will get you medical leave with bail," a promise made in 2012 during his neck surgery, but after the surgery, he was returned to prison, leading to an "infection in the surgical area." The syndicate stressed that Reza Shahabi must be "immediately transferred for medical leave" and, under appropriate conditions, be able to recover part of the damages through physiotherapy and hydrotherapy outside of prison. According to this report, Reza Shahabi's case has been sent back to the medical commission, and the attending physician stated on Saturday in the hospital, emphasizing the "progression of the disease," that an MRI must be performed again. This doctor also mentioned that due to delays in surgery, Reza Shahabi's illness has definitely "progressed," but he has not been granted leave due to "bureaucratic red tape and passing the family around" to various authorities. The report also includes requests from the lawyer of Sepideh Gholian for the court session to be held publicly, European labor unions calling for the release of three imprisoned labor and civil activists, labor gatherings protesting the seventh program, and the confirmation of Davood Razavi's five-year prison sentence in the appeals court. The Syndicate condemned "case-making" and "scenario-making" against labor activists and reported new case-making against three imprisoned labor activists, while some teachers and detained labor activists were released on heavy bails.